


The Spring of Wisdom

by thewakefulworld



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/F, Femslash, Fluff, Let's Go Lesbians, Light Angst, NPCs - Freeform, gerudo, the existential crisis of life post-apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-01-04 10:09:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18341534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewakefulworld/pseuds/thewakefulworld
Summary: A century gone, and Hyrule is still in the Calamity's grip. With nothing but uncertainty looming over their future, Yaido and Celessa take their chances with the open road - for hope, for love, or at least something that will ease that ever-growing sense of unrest.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Extremely random rarepair, I know. I just really wanted adorable NPC Celessa to complete her pilgrimage (and get a girlfriend).

Contrary to their advertising, Yaido’s relationship classes had not in fact prepared her for the world outside of Gerudo Town. One would have thought that when a merchant lugging a giant beetle on their back walked into a stable, eyes would fall on them and not the Gerudo trailing in from behind. But the eyes that confronted her from across the tent as she entered proved otherwise. A young Hylian woman resting on a rug by the beds took in Yaido with an unnoticed smile. Yaido, eager for the attention on her to die, sidled up to a refreshment table and poured herself some water. The young woman scraped her hair into a neater ponytail, then she brushed the dust off her jacket, exhaled slowly, and approached the refreshment table. Yaido didn’t look up.

‘Welcome to Dueling Peaks Stable,’ said the young woman. ‘Do you mind if I join you?’

‘No,’ said Yaido, before she’d even turned her head; the company of women held a priority in her hierarchy of needs. She looked down to meet the young woman’s face and abruptly straightened at its unexpected sweetness. ‘Call me Yaido.’

‘Celessa.’

They smiled at each other. Yaido’s eyes drifted down to the black band around Celessa’s neck, and then noticed Celessa’s gloves and layers of travelling gear before she caught herself staring. She coughed to hide her embarrassment. ‘You’re an adventurer, too?’

‘I like to think so,’ said Celessa. ‘Although clearly I’ve been doing it wrong if you can to look this glamourous out of the wild.’

Yaido’s cheeks warmed. A pair of male adventurers murmured to themselves across the tent, and she glanced their way. Celessa followed her eye. ‘There’s better scenery outside, if you’d prefer,’ she said.

Yaido smiled, surprised. She followed Celessa back out into the sunlight, past the horse stalls and cuccos scratching the dirt to some seats by a campfire. A waterfall rumbled down the mountain across from the stable and fell behind a blue shrine. Yaido turned her back resolutely on the shrine and dumped her pack onto the ground. The clank of Yaido’s shield and spear strapped to the pack caught Celessa’s attention. She leaned close until her face was reflected in the golden shield’s dents and embellishments. ‘Looks like you’ve had a rough journey,’ she said. ‘I did hear the bokoblins are getting stronger. People are seeing black and even silver ones where there used to be red and blue.’

‘Lizalfos have gotten worse, too. I left Gerudo Town with a new scimitar and it was worn to pieces before I’d even left the desert.’

Celessa’s eyes widened. She sat her chin in her hands. ‘You came all this way from the desert? That’s incredible. Alone?’

‘Against my better judgement. You?’

Celessa nodded and laughed. ‘Why do we do it to ourselves?’

Yaido rubbed her tired feet as she contemplated this. ‘Because we’re fools?’

‘Oh, every possibility. But then I suppose adventuring makes about as much sense to me as anything else these days.’

Yaido’s face lit up. ‘ _Exactly_.’

Celessa smiled. ‘I definitely wasn’t the adventuring type before I started, either. I’m probably still not, if I’m honest. But it feels better than sitting at home and just … waiting.’

Yaido froze. There it was - a thought she so rarely heard echoed back at her. Her heart filled with excitement, but before either could continue, another traveller approached from the direction of the shrine. She gave a small wave to Celessa and then introduced herself to Yaido as Sagessa. ‘We don’t often see Gerudo in these parts,’ she said. ‘You must be looking for a husband, right?’

Celessa’s brows flew up at this, but she managed to keep her expression neutral. Yaido looked to the fire to escape both of their stares. A surge of anxiety ate away her excitement. ‘I was hoping to follow a friend to Lover’s Pond,’ she said. ‘But it seems I took a wrong turn.’

A bemused smile crossed Sagessa’s face. ‘Lover’s Pond?’

‘You haven’t heard of it? Gerudo Town’s full of rumours about it. The story goes that when you find the pond you’ll meet your true love. My friend believes it’s in the Faron region.’

Sagessa made a sympathetic hum. ‘If you’re heading for Faron you certainly have taken a wrong turn.’ She tapped her chin. ‘Celessa, isn’t there a way to that region from Hateno Village?’

‘I think so. There’s a villager in Hateno who came up from Lurelin Village, so it must be possible.’

Sagessa brightened. She nudged Yaido with her elbow. ‘Forget the pond - you should try your luck with Lurelin Village. Wouldn’t you just love to wake up each day on the beach? Or maybe you’ll find a man in Hateno Village and never want to leave.’ Her head tipped back with a good-natured laugh.

Celessa saw the discomfort on Yaido’s face and wasn’t sure what to think. Yaido sighed as Sagessa’s laugh faded. ‘Is Hateno Village far?’

‘It’s a couple of days by foot,’ said Celessa. ‘And you’ll want to be careful - bokoblins like to hide along the road to ambush travellers. Although I’m sure it’s nothing a Gerudo warrior can’t handle.’

Yaido smiled despite herself. ‘You travel that way often?’

‘Oh, well, yes,’ said Celessa. She tucked her hair behind her ear. ‘I suppose I do.’

Sagessa slapped her hands together in revelation. ‘You should be her guide, Celessa. You can save her from another wrong turn.’

A jolt of apprehension hit Yaido at this - Hateno Village had still been theoretical. Celessa, just as uneasy with the sudden suggestion, all but twisted away from them on her seat. Before either she or Yaido could think of an excuse to decline, Sagessa looked between them and frowned at Celessa. ‘You told me you were planning to head back that way,’ she said. ‘Or have you suddenly changed your mind?’

‘N-no,’ said Celessa. Her head dropped. ‘I’d be honoured to guide you, Yaido. It’s just ... I don’t want to hold you back either.’

‘Likewise,’ said Yaido.

At this, Celessa rose from her seat. She could breathe easier now that the proposition was behind them, but that didn’t stop her skin from tingling with embarrassment. She started back towards the tent. ‘It was a pleasure meeting you, though’ she blurted over her shoulder. ‘Good luck on your adventure.’

Yaido was left feeling a confusing mixture of relief and regret. Before she could wrestle with it, Sagessa took the freed seat and gave Yaido directions instead: follow the road up to the fork by a bridge and take the right-hand road to the Fort Hateno gate. From there it was a relatively straightforward path to Hateno Village, so long as she kept her wits about her. Yaido set off soon after.

Away from the clamour of the stable, the eerie quietness of Hyrule’s roads took over again. Yaido tried, and failed, not dwell on what had happened with Celessa. Six days had passed since Yaido left Gerudo Town, but it had been longer than that since she’d felt such sense a kinship. Not since Perda.

After a long morning of trekking however, Yaido’s brief rest at the stable caught up with her as her feet started to ache, pushing thoughts of Celessa out of mind. She moved onto the soft grass beside the road, easing the pressure on her feet. Stone ruins of buildings sat nearby along the grass. A mountain goat foraged in between them, and beyond the goat, Yaido spotted a herd of wild horses. She froze mid-step. There were four horses; she only needed to catch one to make her journey an awful lot easier.

Yaido carefully removed her pack and fell to a crouch. She crawled along the bumpy ground, taking care not to spook the goat, and came around to the back of the herd. They stood on higher ground to Yaido, and she could already see herself launching onto the back of the pretty pink horse closest to her and then charging together into the unknown. She saw rainy nights spent together huddled under a tree and feeding the horse apples to let it know how proud she was. But the moment she rose to her feet, the herd reared back and scattered beyond the ruins. Yaido groaned, but before she could mourn the loss of the companion that never was, her eye was drawn to an upturned Guardian in the grass and her spirits lifted.

She retrieved her pack and ran to the Guardian. A brief rummage through its innards proved that someone had done only a cursory scavenge of the body, and she dropped four screws and a spring into the collection of parts in her pack. To her delight, another Guardian sat ahead of her on a gentle slope. Yaido made a beeline for it, and her collection of parts grew larger. Beyond the Guardian, the ground sank downwards into marshland. Yaido saw another Guardian, and then another. Her breath left her as she counted at least ten of them in the near distance, and the thrill of discovery hissed out like a campfire under rain. But her adventure wasn’t paying for itself.

Yaido trudged down into the green marsh and moved from Guardian to Guardian. She passed through more ruins and came to a pond, where she found a Guardian with legs still intact embedded in the mud. Unnerving as the sight was, Yaido’s heart rose shamefully at the thought of the rare parts she might net from such an uncommon specimen. She stepped towards the Guardian and its body trembled. Yaido screamed. The Guardian’s head lifted slightly, and an angry red light pulsed alive across its body. Yaido, transfixed, couldn’t move despite her horror. The Guardian’s head swivelled until a bright blue bead of an eye appeared. The eye fixed onto Yaido and aimed a beam of red light at her chest. Something finally snapped in Yaido, and she turned and ran.

A synthetic trill pierced the air. A bolt of blue light shot past Yaido’s head and exploded against the slope ahead of her. Yaido screamed again and hurtled sideways into the ruins. She fell behind a stone wall and curled against it. Flames crackled along the slope where the light hit, sending smoke billowing into the sky. Yaido took a shuddering breath, and her ears started to buzz with the sound of heavy whirs and whines behind her. She squeezed her eyes shut. If the Guardians patrolling the mesas east of the desert had taught the Gerudo anything, it was that any Guardian that could pursue, would. But the Guardian’s hefty red bulk didn’t round the corner of the wall.

Yaido cast her eye around for an escape route. To go back the way she came would only put her in open grassland. The ruins around her meanwhile only extended so far, and not enough to bring her out of the marsh. There was a rock shelf nearby that she could skirt around, but to get behind it would mean exposing herself to the Guardian’s laser. Yaido started to cry.

‘Hey!’

Yaido looked up. Celessa, inexplicably, was crouched atop the rock shelf. Yaido’s mouth fell open.

‘I’ll distract it,’ shouted Celessa. ‘Can you run?’

‘Yes,’ Yaido yelled back.

Celessa wobbled to her feet. Then she threw her arms into the air and waved them above her head, jumping in place. The blue eye turned to her and its beam of red light found her face. Yaido’s heart leaped. She bolted from her hiding place and ran full pelt towards the rock shelf. Another synthetic trill rang out and bolt of light hit the rock shelf from her left. The explosion pushed Yaido sideways and she fell, then clambered on hand and foot until she could stagger to the other side of the shelf.

Yaido dropped face-down onto the grass. Celessa skidded down the side of the rock shelf and landed with a thud beside her. She sank onto the grass as well, breathless. Yaido clutched a stitch in her side. ‘Sarsqo,’ she breathed.

‘Are you hurt?’

Yaido shook her head. Celessa let out a long exhale. They were quiet for a moment as they caught their breath.

‘I was walking along the road when I heard a scream,’ said Celessa. ‘I ran to the knoll and couldn’t believe it - that awful red light. Then I saw you were trapped and …’

Yaido bowed her head. ‘You are one courageous vai.’

‘That’s a nice way to put it,’ said Celessa. ‘Doing things without thinking might be more accurate.’

Yaido chuckled weakly. ‘Then we’re the same. I should’ve known better than to push my luck with a Guardian cluster, but I couldn’t resist the lure of ancient parts.’

Celessa raised an eyebrow. ‘You hunt treasure as well as bachelors, then?’

Yaido blushed. ‘And do a poor job of both, it seems.’

They helped each other to their feet. Yaido’s heart still pounded as they tottered to the road nearby. ‘Thank you, again,’ she said. ‘I don’t know how I would’ve gotten out of that by myself.’

‘Most people keep away from the marsh,’ said Celessa. ‘A great battle took place there once and it didn’t end well.’

‘With that many Guardians around, I can imagine,’ said Yaido. She found herself walking beside Celessa along the road. For all she cared in that moment, Hateno Village was as good as certain. Celessa was on the verge of restraining something but couldn’t help herself. She took a deep breath.

‘It was actually the battle that caused Princess Zelda to confront Calamity Ganon by herself one hundred years ago. You see, Princess Zelda and her Champion Knight were making their last stand at Fort Hateno. Her Knight died on the battlefield, and with the other Champions gone, it was up to the princess to go to Hyrule Castle alone. If she hadn’t, Hyrule would have been lost.’

Yaido nodded. ‘I’m familiar with the story. Our Lady Urbosa was one of those Champions. It’s said that Urbosa was like a mother to Princess Zelda.’

‘Yes, that’s what my research tells me. Did you know that there are people still alive from when the Calamity struck? Impa, the leader of Kakariko Village is one. She was kind enough to teach me about Princess Zelda and her historical journey. All I had to go on before that were the bedtime stories my father told me.’

‘A scholar _and_ an adventurer.’

Celessa smiled. ‘What I really want is to re-create Princess Zelda’s journey to the Spring of Wisdom.’ She caught Yaido’s puzzled look. ‘It’s a sacred place of the Goddess high up on Mount Lanayru. According to Impa, before the Calamity struck people would travel from all over Hyrule to pray there, including Hyrule Castles’ princesses.’

‘I’m sorry to say I hadn’t heard of it. We Gerudo have our own ways.’

‘Oh - I didn’t mean to bore you.’ Celessa clasped her hand to her chest with a small sigh. ‘I just love and respect the princess so very much. I’d talk about her all day if people let me.’

Yaido couldn’t help but smile. ‘It’s no bother,’ she said.

‘Impa told me the princess made pilgrimages with her knight to springs far across Hyrule, all to awaken her powers. The Spring of Wisdom was her last.’ Celessa’s eyes flashed. ‘Imagine, after all she’d been through, what it must have felt like to reach the final spring at last.’

‘Her feet must have been very sore. Although no doubt she didn’t have to travel by foot like we do.’

Celessa burst into laughter. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘Fort Hateno is a safe place to rest. We should get there by nightfall.’

Yaido looked up at the afternoon sun and groaned inwardly. But Celessa’s chatter about the princess proved to be a good distraction as they followed the winding road. From where they walked, they saw more Guardians across the marsh, and the bodies only increased with distance. Yaido shivered at each sight of them. ‘It’s alright,’ said Celessa. ‘Travellers come this way all the time. If any Guardians were dormant, we’d know.’

Yaido couldn’t help but watch the moss covered bodies all the same, waiting for the red glow to emerge. Then the wall of Fort Hateno appeared ahead of them, and the sight of a Guardian frozen mid-climb along the broken wall made Yaido’s stomach churn. She and Celessa passed through the gate in Fort Hateno’s wall by sundown, just as Celessa predicted.

On the other side of the wall, the road led into woodland. A campfire burned off the road to their right. A man rested by its glow beneath a tree, and he stared up at Yaido as she slowed along the road. Yaido looked from him to the cooking pot at the fire and cursed herself for not thinking to forage during the day. Then she turned and saw that Celessa had already left her side and settled at a tree on the opposite side of the road. The ground was stonier there, but there was an assuredness in Celessa’s manner as she unpacked her things that made Yaido suspect this was a routine decision. Yaido approached her at the tree. Celessa looked up in alarm. ‘Oh - please - don’t think you have to keep me company,’ she whispered. ‘I understand if you’d rather sit at the fire and, well, talk with him.’

‘I’d rather talk with you,’ said Yaido. She set down her pack and reclined against it beside Celessa. Celessa, not knowing what to say to this, offered Yaido half of her meat and rice bowl. They ate with furtive smiles.

‘Your friend said you were heading for Hateno Village too,’ said Yaido.

‘Yes - the village is close to Mount Lanayru. There’s a more direct path to it beyond the Kakariko hills, but it’s filled with monsters.’

‘You seem to handle yourself just fine.’

Celessa snorted. ‘I’m afraid I’ve misled you.’

‘But the road to Hateno Village has monsters too, you said. How do you protect yourself?’

Celessa shrugged. ‘I run and pray they don’t follow. But I’m pretty good at avoiding them, too. Unless of course there’s a Gerudo warrior who needs saving.’

Yaido smiled. Then she scratched the back of her neck. ‘Look. We’re both heading to Hateno Village. We seem to get along well, and we could keep each other out of trouble. I think we might as well travel together after all, don’t you?’

Celessa smiled back at her in surprise. ‘Yes,’ she said, and then paused. ‘If _you_ want to.’

Yaido’s heart started to fill with excitement again. ‘Then it’s settled,’ she said.


	2. Chapter 2

The sense of nearby movement shook Yaido awake. She looked up with bleary eyes and winced at the sunlight filtering down through the branches. A few feet from where she lied, a merchant and their donkey trundled past along the road. Yaido sat up with a disorientated jolt. Celessa’s belongings were already packed away, and she was presently entertaining herself by fiddling with Yaido’s spear. She gave Yaido a cheerful smile. ‘Good morning.’

Yaido, still disorientated, rubbed the sleep from her eyes. ‘What time did you get up?’

‘Oh, around dawn.’

Yaido’s hands fell to her lap and she gaped at Celessa. ‘But it must be mid-morning by now. Why didn’t you just wake me?’

Celessa shrugged. ‘If you don’t want to rush then neither do I.’

Yaido blushed at this. ‘Sorry - I still sleep like I’m back in Gerudo Town. It’s a hard habit to break.’

‘It’s not a bother, really.’

‘Just prod me awake tomorrow, alright?’

‘If you say so.’

The road was empty again by the time they left the wood. Two cliffs towered over the road on either side of them, carving the view of the sky into a wavy blue wedge that narrowed into mountains on the horizon. Wind whistled in an endless stream along the road, pulling dust clouds into the air and carrying them leftward over grass and wildflowers into the walls of the cliff. Yaido and Celessa heard the gentle rumble of a moving water nearby, but the water was out of sight. Absorbed by these quiet noises, they walked in amiable silence until noon when their stomachs started to growl. They came to a fork in the road, and Celessa led Yaido off the main road into a grove of trees.

Under the shade of branches again and cut off from the wind, Celessa set about foraging amongst the bushes and trees accompanied by the quiet trill of insects. Yaido, having spotted a boar, prowled after it with her spear in hand. But she didn’t get far before the crack of a twig under her foot sent the boar dashing out of sight. She returned to Celessa with a pout and watched her wrench a radish from the earth. Yaido crouched down to help her forage for more. A long, tell-tale stalk caught her eye. The radish ripped free at her tug, but the snap of the roots sent a flock of birds fluttering from a nearby tree. ‘I’m not sure Gerudo were made for stealth,’ said Yaido. ‘Give me the desert wind and sand at the very least.’

Celessa peered around at Yaido in amusement. ‘You’re a great hunter back home, then?’

Yaido considered this for a moment and laughed. ‘No, actually. It’s much too hot to bother with. Even with Gerudo Town you’ll find it a much livelier place once the sun sets.’

‘Well, that explains why you were sleeping like a log this morning. Tell me - what’s Gerudo Town like, besides lively?’

Yaido smiled to herself and absently looked down at her radish. ‘Beautiful. And not just in appearance. The Gerudo are a very loyal and caring people. And we’re all free to spend our days as we please. We’re a proud people, too, so we do our part to serve the town. But if you happened to want to spend the day drinking delicious Noble Pursuits in the Canteen with your closest friends, then that’s perfectly acceptable too. All without the bother of men.’ She looked up at Celessa. ‘You should visit sometime.’

‘Visit?’ said Celessa. ‘I don’t know how you ever left.’

Yaido smiled again, but it quickly faded. ‘It’s a good life,’ she said. ‘But for many of us, it’s temporary. No one would ever force you to leave, but if no one left to find a husband and have children, we’d be a very short-lived race.’

‘You get to come back to Gerudo Town though, right?’

‘Some do … to sell their wares, without their husbands.’ She handed Celessa the radish.

‘I can see why you and your friend want to find Lover’s Pond,’ said Celessa. ‘It must make this kind of journey a lot easier.’

Yaido thought of Perda and grew still. Would she have made it to Faron by now? Could she have already found the pond? Yaido tried to imagine Perda with a voe, happy, in love. The image didn’t come to her easily.

Celessa’s head snapped to the side and she peered through the trees. ‘Do you hear that?’

Yaido followed her gaze. Before she could answer, Celessa slipped ahead to follow the noise. Yaido hurried after her, ducking under branches. They moved deeper into the grove and found themselves at the edge of a clearing, where a crowd of small stone statues stood ahead of them. Another blue, luminescent shrine sat behind the statues. A man stood beside the shrine’s opening, his back to the trees, talking out loud to himself. Yaido was about to turn away when Celessa entered the clearing. Yaido reached out to her. ‘Celessa,’ she hissed.

The man jumped in surprise. He spun around and squinted at Celessa and Yaido through his glasses for a brief moment and then pointed an accusatory finger at them. ‘If you’re here for research then I must insist you find your own specimen,’ he said. ‘ _This_ one’s been claimed.’

Celessa smiled hopefully. ‘We’re not researchers,’ she said. ‘But if you are, I have some questions for you.’ She hurried through the crowd of statues towards him.

Yaido followed at a distance, her eyes on the blue glow of the shrine. The same blue, she realised, as the Guardian’s small blue eye. She fell short of the shrine and stood amongst the statues while Celessa stopped by the man. Yaido watched as Celessa’s words melted the man’s indignant expression into something much more gratified. She rolled her eyes. Then the man cut Celessa off to start a monologue that Yaido was supremely grateful was obscured by distance. The blue shrine beside them gleamed cold and unnatural all the while. Yaido’s skin started to crawl at the sight of it. She turned her back on the shrine. Behind her, Celessa’s excited voiced echoed out as she mentioned Princess Zelda. Yaido groaned - this was no longer the quick diversion she’d hoped it was.

Yaido excused herself and returned to the safe, dull greenness of the grove. She wandered through the trees until she found herself back at the road. Before she could turn around, the sight of pink herons across the road made her pause. They stood amongst the grass preening their feathers - not, somehow, having heard her yet. Yaido delicately climbed a slope to her left by the entrance to the grove, which gave her the better vantage point to aim her spear. As she raised her spear however, the flock suddenly took flight. Yaido threw her spear in desperation, but the spear sailed clear of all three herons and disappeared over the grass.

Yaido dragged her fingers down her face as the herons flapped away. She mollified herself slightly with the thought that at least Celessa hadn’t been there to see her fail, and then she stomped down to the road and through the long grass. A river flashed up ahead. Between it and Yaido was a bank of smooth pebbles. The spear was nowhere to be seen along the bank, so Yaido continued scouring the grass.

‘Hello there, friend.’

Yaido jumped. Celessa had caught up with her without so much as a whisper through the grass. She peered up at Yaido’s face with a strange intensity. ‘Sa’oten,’ breathed Yaido. ‘You should be the hunter from now on.’

Celessa tittered behind her hand, but her eyes kept their intensity. ‘I’m looking for a cute Hylian boy,’ she said. ‘Short, blond, runs a lot. Have you seen him?’

Yaido stared down at her in astonishment. ‘A cute Hylian boy,’ she echoed. ‘Do … do you mean to say there’s a lost child on the road?’

Celessa’s smile froze. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I mean a young man. He’s said to wear a blue tunic - very unfashionable. And he has a glider, but I bet he can’t even use it properly.’

Yaido tried to make sense of this young man, supposedly cute, that Celessa apparently also _didn’t_ like, while also trying to ignore the mortification starting to bubble inside her. Then she noticed Celessa’s hands had balled into fists. Celessa crossed her arms. ‘Don’t look at me like that,’ she said. ‘I’m just another girl looking for a husband.’

Yaido shuddered. She found herself drifting a few steps back from Celessa out of dismay, who didn’t even blink at this reaction. Two thoughts flashed through Yaido’s mind: Celessa had either decided to make an unexpectedly cruel joke at Yaido’s expense, or Yaido had been mistaken about her all along. She wasn’t sure in that moment which was worse, save for the possibility of both.

Yaido hugged her middle. Before she could start to flounder for a response, something wavered in the corner of her eye. She turned her head slightly and saw another Celessa standing on the slope where Yaido had thrown her spear, jumping and waving her hands. Yaido looked back at the Celessa standing in front of her. Despite the strange intensity still burning in her eyes, she certainly appeared to be Celessa. She stepped closer to Yaido. Yaido tried to swallow her panic. ‘Sorry, friend, but I can’t help you.’

Celessa narrowed her eyes. Yaido moved past her and urgently scanned the grass for the spear. There was a bang behind her, and her sirwal billowed against her thighs. Yaido whipped around and saw that Celessa had disappeared. The Celessa from the slope, however, was running across the road towards her. She staggered to a stop in the grass and Yaido stepped back. Celessa raised her hands. ‘It’s me - the real me.’

Yaido kept her distance.

‘I’m sorry,’ said Celessa. ‘I forgot to warn you there might be Yiga soldiers along the road. They like to disguise themselves so that they can interrogate people.’

Yaido scowled in recognition; the Yiga base in the desert was well known to Gerudo Town. She rubbed her chin in thought. ‘I knew they were sneaky,’ she said, ‘but transforming themselves like that … how could they have taken your identity so quickly?’

Celessa froze. Yaido was too busy puzzling to notice. She smacked her fist into her palm. ‘Of course - they must have been stalking you from the stable, studying you from afar.’

Celessa’s mouth was a tight line. Yaido patted her shoulder. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘They were a bad mimic. I knew something was off the moment they asked me about a man.’

She laughed. Celessa, distracted, blinked in confusion. Yaido hastily removed her hand from Celessa’s shoulder. She was about to apologise when Celessa’s face lit up with comprehending laughter. Yaido laughed again too, weakly at first with relief, and then loudly as they clutched each other in a wave of laughter boisterous enough to echo against the cliffs. By the time they’d calmed they both felt light, like the laughter had shook them free of a great, invisible burden.

They continued the search for the spear together and found it at last in the sunny shallows of the river. Yaido yanked the spear out of the water and brought with it a fish pierced by her blind throw. Celessa cheered. Yaido blushed. She was still smiling by the time they returned to the fork in the road. Instead of returning to the grove however, Celessa led Yaido up the main road. Yaido looked to the grove and back. ‘You don’t want to cook the fish now?’

‘I had a feeling you’d like to move elsewhere,’ said Celessa. ‘Don’t worry, I know a much better spot we can go to. We’ll have to leave the road, though.’ She looked over her shoulder at Yaido. ‘Is that alright with you?’

Yaido considered the prospect of venturing into the wild like the adventurer she’d claimed to be and smiled. She nodded. Celessa grinned. ‘Good. I think you’re going to like it.’

To their right, the Cliffs of Quince grew closer and more terrifyingly large, while on their left, the slope continued from the entrance of the grove and grew steeper. Celessa pointed out a spot along the slope where the ground rose up alongside it, to the point where one could clamber the rest of the way up the slope and reach the grassy level above. She climbed to the higher ground first, then she gripped Yaido’s hand to brace her as Yaido hoisted herself up onto the grass. Celessa kept hold of Yaido’s hand and led her across and up the steep sections of grassy hill, until the slope grew wide and flatter into a new path. From this vantage point, the horizon tilted upwards and the sky suddenly expanded around them. Mountains jutted up from every direction, connected by enormous white clouds against the blue sky. Below Celessa and Yaido’s feet, the road wound downward into the rocky terrain of a valley. A gust of wind rippled through the grass around Yaido and Celessa, tickling Yaido’s legs. She shivered with an unexpected burst of emotion. ‘I didn’t know Hyrule could look like this,’ she said.

Celessa’s eyebrows flew up. ‘You never explored after you left the desert?’

Yaido laughed to hide her embarrassment. ‘I told you I wasn’t a very good adventurer.’ Her eyes swept over the grass and up to the mountains again. ‘I’m sorry for it. I think I like how this feels. Like we’re wandering into something unknown, only it doesn’t feel scary. In fact, it feels good.’

‘It’s exciting, isn’t it?’

Yaido met Celessa’s eye. A fervent agreement was on the tip of her tongue, but then her eyes fell suddenly upon a blue Sheikah Tower standing across the valley atop a cliff, and her excitement vanished amidst a surge of anxiety. She looked down at Celessa and their hands instead and said nothing. She almost didn’t hear Celessa speak as she pointed out the copse of trees ahead where they could rest.

They descended along the grass into the shade of the trees. Yaido followed Celessa’s lead and dumped her pack against a tree root. A clear space for a cooking fire was found and a new search began for firewood. They didn’t get far before the branches above them started to shake. Celessa and Yaido looked up, and three blue chuchus fell to the ground before them. Celessa gasped. Yaido reached for her spear. ‘Stand back,’ she said.

The chuchus lunged towards them. Yaido marched forth with her spear and swung it through the air in a wide arc, slicing through each chuchu like butter. The chuchus burst and collapsed into jellies on the grass. Yaido flicked a blue glob off her spear. Celessa clutched her chest. ‘That was incredible.’

Yaido blushed. She knew she could trip on a chuchu and kill it for all the danger they were, but she wasn’t going to contradict Celessa. Not now that she was suddenly on a roll.

Not having much in the way of experience when it came to fish, she got the cooking fire burning while Celessa gutted the fish and prepared the radishes. While those were steaming on sticks by the fire, Celessa filled Yaido in on the conversation she’d had with the researcher. He hadn’t much to say about the connection between Princess Zelda and the shrines that she’d researched in her time, and he hadn’t been interested in what Celessa had to say about that either. But she’d managed to gain a scrap of something interesting for her trouble: the shrine had appeared well after the tower and other shrines in the region had appeared, and while the reason didn’t interest the researcher, he suspected it was caused by someone’s interference.

‘A Sheikah?’ said Yaido.

‘You’d think so. But when I was in Kakariko Village, Impa said that the shrines were waiting for someone. She didn’t say who, but I got the sense it wasn’t someone from the village.’ Her brow furrowed. ‘If there’s someone out there who knows what to do with the shrines, maybe it means something’s finally happening. Or about to.’

Yaido, unwilling to speculate on what this “something” might be, found herself plucking anxiously at the grass by her feet. Her fingers brushed against something firm, and a brown insect suddenly fluttered up at her face. Yaido squeaked. Celessa looked over in time to see the insect fly away and Yaido’s face emerge from behind her hands. ‘What horrible beast was that?’ said Yaido.

Barely restrained laughter shook Celessa’s shoulders. ‘We call them Restless Crickets. They’re harmless.’

Yaido blushed. ‘Well. I suppose that cancels out the chuchus.’

Celessa’s laughter broke out. Yaido couldn’t help but laugh too. They were still giggling as they ate their way through the fish and radishes, and as a wave of lazy fullness settled over them. Celessa suggested they climb a nearby hill and enjoy the rest of the afternoon sun. Yaido happily obliged.

Giggling like children, they raced through the long grass and up a slope. As Yaido climbed higher, however, the piercing blue of the Sheikah Tower drew her eye again. Her laughter died as she reached the top of the hill. Celessa, still giddy from the climb, swung around to follow Yaido’s gaze. Her smile faltered as well.

‘Do you remember when they were orange?’ said Yaido.

‘Carrots. That’s what my little brother used to call them.’ She sat in the grass by Yaido’s feet. ‘Pretty, aren’t they.’

Yaido looked down at her in surprise. ‘You think so?’

‘It’s a nicer way to think of them than … well …’

‘Something malignant from another world?’

Celessa grimaced. She hugged her knees. ‘It does seem that way, doesn’t it?’

Yaido sat as well and they stared up at the tower.

‘The towers were important to Princess Zelda,’ said Celessa. ‘That makes them a bit more tolerable, at least to me.’

‘I’m happy for you.’

Celessa felt a sting of embarrassment. ‘That’s not to say I always liked them,’ she said. ‘When the towers appeared and the shrines started to glow, I thought something dreadful was going to happen. I think everyone did.’

Yaido murmured in agreement. It’d been around the same time as the towers appearing that Vah Naboris reawakened; their divine protector now a monster. It rested again, but who was to say it wouldn’t wake again, still enraged?

Celessa was quiet beside her. Yaido’s voice softened. ‘I meant what I said before. If you find something good in those towers, then that’s better than most people.’

Celessa considered this. ‘I don’t know about “better”. Most people seem able to go on with their lives. But I think those towers are what made me decide to go on my adventure in the first place.’

‘Really? It wasn’t for the Princess?’

‘Well, yes. But to be honest, I don’t think I could have done it if the towers hadn’t appeared. I was tired of not understanding anything that was happening to me. And tired of being at home, not knowing what to do with my life.’

Yaido turned and looked hard at her. The excitement she’d felt when speaking to Celessa at Dueling Peaks Stable sparked back to life. Celessa quickly tucked her hair behind her ear. ‘I wish I could say it was for something more noble, like you,’ she said.

‘No,’ said Yaido. ‘I’m glad to hear you say that. Well - you know, not _glad_ , really.’ She gave a nervous laugh. ‘It’s just, I think I know how you feel. My friend looking for Lover’s Pond - she and I used to talk a lot about what we’d do with our future. Maybe find husbands, maybe not. Probably not. But then towers appeared on the mountains, and a shrine next to town started to glow, and then there was our Divine Beast who went berserk. With all of that, it felt like we had to make decisions fast, because for all we knew our lives might not be long enough to wait.’ She paused, and then lost her trail of thought. She looked up at the tower again and sighed.

Celessa smiled. ‘It’s good to know I’m not the only one who feels that way. Well, you know —’

‘I know.’ Yaido met Celessa’s eye and smiled back at her.

The shadow of a cloud passed over the tower, and Celessa and Yaido watched as it drifted into the valley below. From the top of the hill, the two of them could see past trees and shrubs along the valley to where stone ruins of buildings still stood. A meeting place, perhaps, where villagers and travellers shared their wares. Or perhaps people had simply wanted to live in the valley by the river - a far less audacious dream one hundred years ago.


	3. Chapter 3

With some overnight rainfall losing her sleep, Celessa wasn’t surprised to wake to the copse of trees already buzzing in the daylight. She looked down at Yaido gently snoring beside her and carefully got to her feet, grabbed her pack, and left the copse of trees. Dew clung to her boots as she walked through the grass towards distant trees, where a waterfall fell just beyond them. Her eyes travelled up above the waterfall to the icy peak of Mount Lanayru poking into the sky. She dragged her eyes back down and broke into a run. The waterfall poured into a lake, and there Celessa undressed and bathed as quickly as she could in the freezing water. She tried not to think of anything beyond rubbing her numb fingers along her skin - not about Hateno Village, not about the path she and Yaido would take, not even what they’d have for breakfast. When she got back to the copse of the trees, Yaido was still asleep. Rather than wake her, Celessa found herself creeping back to the edge of the trees. She crouched at the foot of a tree and stared at Mount Lanayru.

Yaido, cold from the overnight rain, woke earlier than usual to find Celessa still crouched by the tree. Celessa looked up at Yaido with a smile. ‘Another beautiful blue sky today.’

Yaido looked up. Celessa saw a flicker of regret on Yaido’s face as she took in the expansive sky. The question of how far they had left to reach Hateno Village weighed heavily on both their minds as they made a breakfast of mushrooms, but neither broached it. Instead, they slowly collected their belongings, stretched, gathered some extra mushrooms around the copse, and analysed their dreams from the night before. Finally, they had no choice but to leave the copse and continue on their way.

The rustle of wind through the grass became the only sound along the plain ahead. Celessa felt herself falling into a contemplative silence again, and then Yaido cleared her throat from a few steps behind her.

‘Your shield is interesting,’ she said. ‘I’ve been meaning to ask you - what animal is that?’

‘It’s a stag. Deer are common in the woods near my home.’

‘I don’t think you’ve told me where you lived.’

‘Wetland Stable. You wouldn’t have passed it, not unless you were more lost than you let on.’

She winked back at Yaido, and Yaido smiled ruefully. ‘Is it far from Dueling Peaks Stable?’

‘Not as far as Gerudo Town, I’ll bet. But far enough. I took a shortcut through Kakariko Village.’

‘You must have met some interesting sorts in your time, living amongst travellers. Do you miss it?’

Celessa considered this as they approached a large rock shelf. The road was below them again, but she and Yaido were too high up to jump down. They continued around the rock shelf. ‘It might sound strange, but no, not really,’ said Celessa. ‘I do worry about my brothers, though. Yolero thinks he’s the chosen Hero to save Hyrule. Ami is still so young and yet completely joyless. And Izra, well, I think he’d like to leave the stable and start a family. But women rarely stop by for him to meet anyone.’

Yaido’s mouth fell open. ‘Three brothers? No wonder you have such patience for men. That rude researcher would have driven me back to the desert if I’d have been you.’

Celessa laughed, surprised but secretly pleased that Yaido was still thinking of that encounter.

‘Your brother should be brave-hearted like you and strike out on his own,’ said Yaido. ‘It might be the only way to get what he wants.’

Celessa reddened at the compliment. ‘Maybe a Gerudo will stop by one day and take a liking to him.’

‘Unlikely,’ said Yaido. ‘Gerudo don’t like to settle. But what about you? Did you ever think of starting a family?’

Celessa heard the deliberate lightness in Yaido’s voice and tried to match it. ‘No. I can’t say I did.’

They came to the other side of the rock shelf and caught sight of a flag on a hill in the distance. Beyond it, cream coloured windmills and chimneys sat with their orange rooves along the mountain. Celessa and Yaido took the sight in without a word, and then Celessa found her voice and suggested that they rest for moment while she decided on the best direction to approach the village. Yaido sat down against the rock shelf and watched as Celessa’s brow grew increasingly furrowed at the sight of Hateno Village. ‘Tell me about Princess Zelda,’ said Yaido.

Startled, Celessa snapped out of her frown and looked over at Yaido. ‘What do you want to know?’

Yaido rubbed her chin and appraised what crucial gaps of Celessa there were in her knowledge. ‘What made you decide to follow in her footsteps?’

‘Oh, well.’ Celessa’s posture relaxed. ‘I started out just wanting to know more about her. Everything I’d learned up until then told me what a brave, selfless person she was. That was enough to inspire me while I grew up, but I wanted to know more about her life before the Calamity. Then I went to Kakariko Village and learned of the mission she went on to protect Hyrule. It all sounded so overwhelming. All for the peace of Hyrule.’ She smiled to herself. ’And when I learned of the Spring of Wisdom, I knew what I needed to do.’ At this she twisted her head to catch sight of Mount Lanayru’s peak again.

Yaido followed her gaze. She gasped. ‘ _That’s_ Mount Lanayru?’

‘If I go to the spring, there’s a chance I’ll feel Zelda’s presence,’ said Celessa. She clutched her collar and sighed. ‘And if I pray hard enough, the Goddess might even bless me with some wisdom.’

Yaido stared up at the jagged points of ice jutting up from the peak of the mountain. A single sneeze looked like it would send one of those points crashing down the mountain side. She shook her head in amazement. ‘I’ve never met such a romantic.’

Celessa blushed again. ‘You don’t mean me?’

‘Yes! You’re risking life and limb out of love for someone you’ve never even met.’

Celessa blinked. A knot started to form in her stomach. She tried to laugh but it sounded forced. ‘What about you?’ she said. ‘You’re the one who left home and came all this way just to _find_ love.’

Yaido shrugged. ‘Love, or something like it.’

‘I thought Gerudo didn’t settle.’

Yaido smiled faintly and then slumped back against the rock. Celessa groaned. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘You were trying to lighten the mood and I couldn’t take the hint.’

Yaido chuckled. ‘No, you couldn’t.’

The afternoon sun was already upon them, so they picked up the journey again and found a place along the slope where they could slide to the road below. The hard ground was an unwelcome familiarity under their feet. As they trudged along the winding road, Hateno Village took on more detail up on the mountainside: fences, crops, more flags. A small tower sat high above the village on a hill, its chimney spitting out tendrils of smoke. Then the view of the village disappeared as the road entered Ginner and Midla Wood. Celessa lowered her voice. ‘We should be careful. Bokoblins hide out here.’

As a precaution, Yaido took hold of her spear. She and Celessa approached a crossroad in the woods and the rancid odour of bokoblin flew towards them on the breeze. Celessa shuddered. Yaido stopped walking, and they glanced at each other and then peered around at the trees. A woman’s shriek suddenly rang out to their left. Celessa jumped in fright. Yaido, meanwhile, charged towards into the bushes towards the sound, spear ready. Celessa fumbled to unsheath her sword. Her heart pounded as she followed in Yaido’s wake.

Grunts came from nearby. Then Celessa saw the back of a silver bokoblin through the trees. It brandished a dragonbone club over a woman pinned against a tree trunk. Just as Celessa felt her feet glue to a fearful stop, Yaido took a flying leap with her spear and drove it into the bokoblin’s back. The woman dived from the tree just in time as Yaido and the bokoblin crashed into the trunk. Yaido’s spear broke to pieces. The bokoblin crumpled with a howl and burst into a cloud of purple malice. Fangs, a horn, and a diamond clattered onto the dragonbone club at the foot of the tree. Celessa helped the woman to her feet. The woman pointed past Yaido. ‘My sister —!’

Celessa and Yaido looked over to a red bokoblin a few trees over. A woman was out cold on the ground by the bokoblin’s feet as it danced in oblivious glee. Celessa gripped her sword with sweaty hands. Her pulse roared in her ears, but rather than charge forward as Yaido had done, her body was still rigid with fear. Yaido picked up the dragonbone club and in one swing sent the bokoblin flying. A small popping noise followed as the bokoblin, out of sight, exploded back into malice.

The woman brushed past Celessa and ran to her fallen sister. Celessa, anxious to be of help, hurried after her. Yaido crouched beside the sister. ‘We’re not too far from Hateno Village,’ she said. ‘I can carry her, if you think it’s safe to move her.’

The woman shook her head. ‘It’s alright. For better or worse, Nat has a very thick skull. She’ll come around in a moment.’ She brushed the hair off Nat's face, who didn’t appear to be seriously injured, and then held her hand out to Yaido. Yaido shook it.

‘I’m Meghyn.’

‘Yaido. And that’s Celessa.’

Meghyn glanced at Celessa and then smiled back at Yaido. ‘Thank you for your help. We were truffle hunting when the bokoblins snuck up on us.’

Yaido glanced around the trees. ‘Are you sure it’s safe to wait here?’

‘Well, I’d like to think so,’ said Meghyn. ‘But after we were surprised like that, I’m not so sure.’ She bit her lip. ‘Would you stay with me for a little while? Just until Nat wakes?’

Yaido was about to answer, but then she looked up at Celessa in question. Celessa turned red. ‘Of course,’ she said.

Nat woke not too long after, just as Meghyn had predicted, but by that point Yaido and Meghyn were deep in discussion of Gerudo Town and the skilfulness of Gerudo fighters. The request to stay turned into a request to join the sisters for dinner, and Celessa, again, couldn’t say no. Whle the sisters giggled at Yaido's stories of Gerudo Town and showered her with compliments, Celessa sat in silence at their campfire, swimming in troubled thoughts. Why did Yaido seem so much more open and cheerful with the sisters than she was with her? Why did she find herself resenting the sisters for it? And why did she resent Yaido? Celessa tried to focus back on Yaido and the sisters’ conversation, and the memory of Yaido plunging fearlessly through the trees, determined to help regardless of what was waiting for her repeated itself mercilessly in her head.

It was quite dark by the time the sisters asked Yaido what had brought her and Celessa to Hateno Village. Yaido’s expression fell, and she realised it was time to bid the sisters farewell. The sisters sent Yaido off with the silver bokoblin’s diamond and an elixir, which Yaido handed to Celessa the moment they reached the road again. ‘I think you’ll find this more useful than I will, friend.’

Celessa squinted down at the murky flash of liquid in the bottle. ‘Why?’

‘They told me it’s for cold-resistance.’

Celessa stuffed the bottle into her pack, and they continued walking. ‘I’m sorry about earlier,' said Celessa. 'For not helping. I wanted to, I just … I couldn’t do it.’

‘Is that what you’ve been sulking about? Don’t give it another thought.’

‘It’s all I _can_ think about, Yaido. I want to be brave.’ She sighed. ‘I want to be brave like _you_. I’m sick of running away.’

‘Like me? Have you forgotten that you saved me from a _Guardian_?’

‘It’s not the same,’ said Celessa.

‘It is to me.’

Celessa pursed her lips and said nothing. They continued in silence along the road.

They left the wood, and a twinkle of lights appeared ahead of them from distant lanterns along the road. A man with a pitchfork greeted Celessa and Yaido with narrowed eyes as they approached the entrance of Hateno Village. Celessa noticed Yaido staring the man down, but the man made no motion to stop them passing through. Lantern poles lit the road into the village, and gold lights winked from the windows of dwellings they passed. Yaido slowed to take in the sights of the empty village, but Celessa, already familiar and eager for the refuge of a bed, didn’t dawdle. She led Yaido across a stream and then up two sets of steps into the warmth and light of the village inn.

A strange shyness came over Celessa as she approached the inn attendant’s counter. Yaido, beside her, had lost her confident stride as well now that they were back in civilsation. The sense of ease between them on the road now withered away, and neither were able to answer when the attendant asked if they intended to share the same room. They looked at each other with growing embarrassment until Yaido finally shrugged and suggested they stick together.

Four empty beds awaited them in the upper room of the inn, two beds close together against the right wall, and two against the left wall further apart. Yaido and Celessa exchanged another awkward glance.

‘Which bed would you prefer?’

‘Oh, I don’t mind.’

‘I think there’s more beds on the ground floor - if you want privacy, I’ll —’

‘No, no. We’ll both be snoring in a few moments anyway.’

They stared at the beds and then at each other. After some more painstaking negotiation, they settled with the beds on the left wall. Neither had the energy to do much more than kick off their shoes and tug off accessories before they settled under their blankets. Celessa looked over shoulder and saw Yaido staring at the ceiling.

‘Goodnight.’

‘Goodnight.’


	4. Chapter 4

Faint rattles, bangs, and birdsongs drifted in through the open window near Yaido’s bed. She stirred and was surprised to find Celessa still asleep in her bed. She contemplated Celessa’s still frame for moment and then readied herself to see the village alone.

The sun was pleasantly warm outside, though a chill breeze carried through the air, something that Yaido could only assume by now was perpetual to the Necluda region. Travelling alone was hardly new to her, but she felt her pulse quicken with nerves as she walked down the first set of steps. She paused at the next set and took a deep breath. Ahead of her was a cooking station, and just to her right at the bottom of the steps was a stable. Down the road was the stream she and Celessa had crossed, and a large building adorned with colourful fabrics. A blue shrine sat above them all on a hill in the near distance. Yaido sighed; it seemed they were inescapable.

She walked down the rest of the steps and bumped into two children running up the road. The children fell back with gasps and craned their necks to look up at her. Yaido said hello to them, but the children only stared at her in awe. An old woman sitting by the cooking station gave Yaido a sympathetic smile. She waved Yaido over. The children scurried away up the road.

‘Goodness,’ said the woman. ‘It’s been a while since this village saw a Gerudo. We used to see quite a few of you visiting the dye shop. That’s always been our most popular attraction.’

Yaido looked down along the sparsely populated road. The bustle of Hateno Village during its peak hour wasn’t quite the level of excitement she was used to, but it was the most chatter she’d heard since Gerudo Town. The woman gave Yaido a knowing look. ‘If you’re looking to stay for the other reason, you may be in luck. There’s a few lonely hearts among us.’

Yaido followed her gaze to a surly young man leaning against the stable. His posture stiffened and he quickly looked away from them. A restless cricket crawled out of his pocket and fell to the ground. It fluttered away, just as another cricket followed from the pocket and fell. The young man noticed the cricket hopping away and scrambled to catch it. Yaido and the old woman watched in silence for a moment, and then another cricket fell to the ground, and Yaido bid the woman farewell. The woman laughed apologetically. ‘Just a moment,’ she said. ‘There’s another fellow you might be interested in talking with. You’ll find him up past the model houses. I heard rumour he was looking to get married.’

Yaido nodded politely. Not feeling particularly encouraged to rush however, she strolled across the stream and took in the sights. Villagers worked in fields amongst the houses or stood about chatting by the water fountain. More children were running about, and they stared at Yaido in awe when they saw her, just as the others had. Adult eyes followed Yaido as well as she passed by their shop fronts. Soon only the entrance was ahead leading back into the woods, and so Yaido took a left turn up some steps to a hill. Awaiting her were three colourful box-like houses, curiously set apart from the rest of the village homes. The model houses, Yaido presumed. A bridge lied beyond them, leading to a large house also curiously parted from the rest of the village. Yaido crossed over the water below and saw a man sitting by a campfire under the shade of a tree. His face lit up at the sight of Yaido. Yaido, unaccustomed to such a reaction, smiled despite herself. The man waved her over to the fire.

Yaido noticed certain stylistic choices as she approached - a tilted headband, a single earring, a dramatic collar, and she felt herself relax. She sat down at the fire, and the man introduced himself as Bolson. His voice had an airy, musical lilt that was oddly pleasing to Yaido’s ears. ‘What brings you to this side of the village?’ said Bolson. ‘If you’re looking for the master of the house, I’m afraid he’s perpetually away on business.’

‘No,’ said Yaido. ‘I’m just wandering.’

‘Ah.’ He squinted at her. ‘You’re here on the search for a husband, right? Something tells me the dating scene must be rather dire if it’s dragged you all the way to Hateno Village.’

Yaido smirked. ‘I’d settle for someone who buys Guardian parts.’

Bolson leaned forward. ‘But seriously, though. Is it bad out there? Enquiring minds want to know.’

Yaido looked to the fire and shrugged. Bolson harrumphed. ‘You’re rather nonchalant for someone who’s come all this way,’ he said. ‘Unless you’re not actually looking for a husband.’

Yaido’s shoulders slumped. She shook her head. ‘I’m afraid I am.’

Bolson narrowed his eyes at her for moment, and then his expression softened. He leaned forward again. ‘I have a sinking suspicion I’ve been in your shoes.’

Yaido looked up in surprise.

‘Tell me: what good do you think will come of getting a husband?’ said Bolson.

Yaido wanted to look away again but managed to resist the temptation. ‘An obligation fulfilled,’ she said.

Bolson sighed. ‘I thought as much. Let me tell you something; there’s no sense in trying to be like the others. I played that game for most of my life, and yes,’ he swept his arm to the model houses, ‘in the process I managed to carve a _visionary_ business out of it, but do you know what else came of that? I’m giving it up. I have to.’

Yaido blinked at the garish houses. ‘Why?’

‘For love! For satisfaction! For the sake of no longer being a square peg trying to fit through a round hole. Trust me, darling. You’ll only hurt your heart if you keep this up.’

Yaido looked down. ‘I know.’

Bolson pumped his fist. ‘Then get out of here. And send any eligible bachelors you happen upon my way instead.’

A small, sad smile appeared on Yaido’s face. She rose to her feet. ‘Thank you for the encouragement,’ she said, ‘but I’m not going anywhere. I have a duty to my people.’ She retreated from the fire, and Bolson cupped his hand to his mouth.

‘Okey-doo’, he called. ‘I’ll keep my spot at the fire warm for you, shall I?’

Yaido raised a hand in farewell and kept her mouth tightly shut. With a heavy heart, she crossed the bridge back into the village and let herself drift back up the road. As she drew near the inn, she considered heading back inside to check on Celessa, but the more she thought about seeing her, the more she realised she wasn’t ready for that yet. Instead, she continued up the road and along a hill amongst the windmills. She spotted a woman seated under a tree up ahead, looking over the hillside to the windmill below. The woman didn’t stir as Yaido came up the hill, and only when Yaido was close enough to see the glassy look in her eye did the woman snap out of her reverie. Yaido was content to keep walking, but then the woman smiled at Yaido. ‘Sav’aaq,’ she said.

Yaido froze mid-step. The woman laughed. ‘Oh dear. Did I say it wrong?’

‘No,’ breathed Yaido. Before she knew it, she was already beside the woman. ‘That was perfect. I take it you’ve done some travelling?’

‘Oh, no. I recently visited my home village and met another Gerudo there. I was surprised to see her at first, but Lurelin Village is certainly beautiful enough to attract visitors. What brings you to Hateno Village? The dye shop?’

Yaido had stopped listening. She moved closer. ‘Did the Gerudo give you her name?’

The woman’s brow furrowed in thought. ‘She might have, but I’m afraid I don’t remember.’

Yaido’s breath grew shallow as she took this in. There was no doubt in her mind that the Gerudo was Perda. ‘Was she with …’ Yaido began, and then lost her nerve. ‘Did she seem happy?’

The woman chuckled. ‘Happy? She was miserable! It was raining so much, I can’t say I blame her.’ Yaido’s face fell. The woman noticed this, and softly cleared her throat. ‘What’s your name? I’m Ralera.’

‘Yaido.’ She was quiet for a moment as she tried to gather herself back in. ‘I’ll leave you be,’ she said. ‘I didn’t mean to disturb you.’

‘No, please, stay,’ said Ralera. ‘I need the distraction. All I’ve been able to think about since I got back from Lurelin is beach sunsets and the sound of waves.’

Although eager to be alone again, Yaido acquiesced at the mournful edge to Ralera’s voice. ‘It sounds like you’d rather be at Lurelin than here,’ she said.

Ralera’s cheeks grew pink. She looked up past Yaido to somewhere unseen beyond the hill. ‘It’s hard to be away,’ she said. ‘But my father wanted to see me settle down, and once I was married there was no choice in the matter; my husband’s work is here. And I, of course, must help him.’

Yaido listened to this with a growing sense of intrigue. ‘Maybe you can help me as well,’ she said.

Ralera looked back down at her in surprise. ‘I’ll try.’

‘You see, I’ve left my home too, for a similar reason,’ said Yaido. She found herself starting to pace. ‘Only I’m not married yet. And I find it hard to imagine myself that way. But it must happen.’ She stopped moving. ‘How did you make it work?’

Ralera looked down over the village. ‘Well, since you ask, I’ll tell you that time management is key. Right now, I’m actually working. My job is to watch the windmills during the day while my husband sleeps. In a few hours he’ll wake and take over the job during the night.’

‘So you barely see each other?’

Ralera nodded.

‘Interesting.’ Yaido tried to picture herself in such a marriage, and the heaviness inside her lifted a little. ‘That sounds more manageable than what I was dreading. Much more … _peaceful_. Solitary, maybe. But then I’m sure it has its benefits. You could become one of Hyrule’s great thinkers one day.’

Ralera smiled appreciatively. Then she looked back over the village again, and her smile became faint. ‘It’s pleasant enough,’ she said. She folded her arms over her stomach and shook her head. ‘When you’ve lived by the sea though, the rhythm of the waves become such a part of you it’s impossible not to feel the echo of them even now.'

'Really?'

Ralera blushed again. 'Have you ever noticed how much the wind through the grass sounds like a crashing wave? Sometimes when the wind picks up, I like to close my eyes and pretend I'm back there. Just for a moment.’

Pity shook through Yaido’s excitement. Her mind searched for something consoling to say, but such words had never seemed that useful to her. ‘I’ll keep you in my thoughts if I ever go to Lurelin,’ she finally managed. ‘I’ve never seen the sea, but if it’s even half as beautiful as it sounds, I’m sure I’ll love it.’

Ralera gasped. ‘Never seen the sea? Do me a favour and take the path behind that windmill over there and go up the hill to the cliffside. Trust me, it’ll be worth it.’

Yaido laughed. ‘If you insist. Thank you for your advice.’

‘You’re welcome to come speak with me again,’ said Ralera. ‘But if I don’t see you before you leave … well, I wish you luck with your travels.’

Ralera looked back to the windmill, and Yaido made her way back down the hill and followed Ralera’s directions up to the cliffside. A violent wind tossed her ponytail as she approached the edge of the cliff. Goosebumps prickled her arms. Blue and calm below her, the sea water twinkled far and wide. It stretched across the horizon, farther than her eyes could make out. Yaido closed her eyes, and beyond the wind she heard the distant rush of gentle waves. Not unlike, she agreed, the wind rustling through the grass behind her.

A blue shrine sat upon a tiny island in the water below her. Yaido stared hard at it. She looked back up at the horizon, at the point where the light blue sky met the dark blue sea. She closed her eyes again and listened to the wind. Perhaps it was just her wishful thinking, or perhaps she’d simply never noticed it before, but in it she heard the rise and fall of sand caught on the wind.

Sundown was growing near by the time Yaido wandered back in the direction of Hateno Village. She found herself descending by a tree that overlooked the village, and although hungry and unexpectedly tired, she settled down against the tree trunk with her cloud of thoughts. She gazed at the windmills and the bend of the road behind them that wound up the hill to the strange building at the top and its smoking chimney. She imagined herself sitting in the same place each day like Ralera, moving again when the sun set to pass a barely familiar face in the twilight. She imagined sustaining herself on memories, and wondered if Gerudo Town was enough.

She straightened as she saw Celessa walk out from behind a windmill. She was heading down the hill. Warmth spread within Yaido. She waved her arms, and Celessa saw this and redirected. Yaido’s heart felt light as Celessa drew nearer. But Celessa looked uncertain as she reached the tree. ‘Hello,’ she said. She didn’t sit.

The buoyant feeling in Yaido started to shrink. ‘Hello,’ she echoed. ‘You must be feeling well-rested.’

Celessa, stone-faced, nodded.

Yaido smiled in confusion. ‘Are you just going to stand there?’

Celessa looked about her, as though doing otherwise hadn’t occurred to her. She sat cross-legged in the grass, but it was an appeasement, and Yaido knew it. Celessa looked down onto the road and the children running down from the hill. ‘What do you think of the village?’ she said.

‘I haven't decided. I met some nice people, and the atmosphere is certainly … pleasant.’ She sighed. ‘I can’t fault it in any meaningful way, and yet there’s something I don't like about this place.’

Celessa rested her chin in her hand. ‘I think it’s the peacefulness. It’s so tenuous - any moment it could disappear.’

Yaido furrowed her brow. ‘Oh, yes. Maybe that’s it.’

Celessa suddenly straightened. ‘I heard there’s a Gerudo at Lurelin Village.’

‘Yes, so did I.’

‘Could be your friend, right? I suppose you’ll be visiting her, then?’

Yaido looked away. ‘I don’t know. Maybe I should. My odds here don’t seem very encouraging.’

‘There’s always Lover’s Pond,’ said Celessa. She smiled. ‘Maybe your friend was in luck and you’ll have a wedding to attend.’

Yaido laughed and rubbed her temples. ‘Sa’oten. I didn’t even think about weddings. I suppose Perda will have remembered to bring a white veil. I’ll have to do without.’

Celessa bit her lip and she looked away from Yaido and the village. Rather against her will, her eyes found the peak of Mount Lanayru behind Madorna Mountain. Yaido looked up at it as well. A thrill of excitement ran through her, pushing the thought of weddings from her mind. ‘It must feel good to be getting so close to it,’ she said.

Celessa turned her head resolutely away from the mountain. ‘Yes.’

Yaido nearly laughed, but Celessa’s lack of enthusiasm didn’t seem to be a joke. ‘How many days will it take to reach the summit?’ said Yaido.

Celessa sighed. ‘At least a couple. Although depending on the weather … and the inhabitants … much longer.’

Yaido blinked. ‘You still want to go up there, right?’

Celessa turned red. ‘Of course. There’s just a lot to prepare for, that’s all.’

‘I’ll help you, if you’d like.’

‘No,’ said Celessa. She was suddenly on her feet again. ‘Thank you, but I need to start relying on myself. Since, well, since we won’t be seeing each other much longer.’ She briefly met eyes with Yaido, and it dawned on Yaido that this was what Celessa had been leading to all along. Celessa’s fingers locked together as she waited for Yaido to respond, but Yaido didn’t want to stand and finalise things. She looked down at her lap and said nothing.

‘I’ll be staying here a few more days,’ said Celessa. ‘So I’ll be able to see you off, at least.’

Yaido considered this and then started to smile. ‘That’s funny,’ she said. ‘I was thinking of staying a few more days, too.’

Celessa turned red again. ‘O-oh? But why?’

Yaido gave an exaggerated shrug. ‘Since it’s so peaceful here, I might as well take the opportunity to rest a bit more before I hit the road again. Who knows, I might even come around to this place.’

Concern flickered across Celessa’s face, but then she held out her hand to Yaido and helped her to her feet. They smiled tentatively at each other.

* * *

Yaido’s bedframe squeaked as she tossed and turned on her mattress. Her sighs followed. Then boredom triumphed. Yaido dressed and went down the stairs. Her heels clacked along the floor below, heading for breakfast. The hum of her voice chatting with the attendant followed, and then, finally, her heels clacked out of the inn. Celessa climbed out of bed and went to the window. Yaido’s confident stride took her up the road towards the hill. She wore her pack, which gave Celessa a small sense of relief - Yaido apparently planned to be gone a while.

Celessa left the inn with her pack in hand as well. She went straight to the cooking station and set about turning her leftover mushrooms and herbs into meals. Her pack now brimming with fragrant steam, she made her way down the road to East Wind, where Pruce greeted her with a familiar nod. Celessa managed to sell the meals and the chuchu jellies from the copse she and Yaido had stayed at for 80 rupees. She promptly bought out the shop’s supply of Hylian rice and stuffed them into her pack. Her next stop was Kochi Dye Shop. White, Sayge warned her, was an unwise colour for travellers. Celessa handed him the veil she’d snuck from Yaido’s pack the night before.

Back outside with the freshly dyed veil safely hidden in her pack, Celessa crossed the stream and made her way up the steps to the home of the mayor. Housed to one side of the front courtyard was a Goddess statue. Celessa dropped her pack under a nearby apple tree and then knelt before the statue. Her heart felt lighter at she looked upon the statue’s round face. Then she closed her eyes and mirrored the statue’s clasped hands in prayer. 

 _Give me strength, Goddess Hylia. I need to be strong, like Princess Zelda. Or else I don_ _’t know how I’m going to get through this._

Yaido returned to the inn at sundown. Celessa, eating at the dinner table on the ground floor, watched as Yaido snuck upstairs and then returned without her pack. Yaido jerked back at the sight of Celessa at the table. Celessa waved, and Yaido gave her a sheepish grin. ‘I thought I’d beat you back,’ she said.

‘You must have gone far,’ said Celessa. ‘Or at least, I didn’t see you in the village.’

‘Yes, I was exploring the hill. There’s a lot of pretty farmland up there.’

Celessa decided not to pursue the topic too thoroughly, lest Yaido question her about her day’s doings. She went upstairs and flicked through a book while Yaido finished her dinner. But Celessa’s mind wouldn’t settle on the book. Instead she dwelt on every noise from below her bed. Her heart pounded as she turned the book’s pages.

Yaido eventually came up the stairs and fell with a great flump onto her bed. Celessa snapped her book shut. ‘Yaido - I have something for you.’

Yaido sat up. She smiled hesitantly as Celessa opened her pack. ‘I hope you won’t be too angry with me,’ said Celessa. ‘I just thought that since you’d forgotten - and might not have money you want to spend … well, here.’ She thrust the white veil into Yaido’s hands.

Yaido stared down at the veil. Celessa held her breath. A few expressions fought for dominance on Yaido’s face, none of them a smile. Celessa’s stomach lurched. She grabbed for the veil. ‘I’m sorry - we can remove the dye. It was a stupid idea.’

Yaido pulled the veil close and touched Celessa’s arm. ‘Celessa, I have to pay you back for this. I mean, I have a _diamond_. You shouldn’t be wasting your money on me.’ She blushed. ‘“Waste” is the wrong word. I just … I can’t believe you did this for me. It’s so thoughtful of you.’ She laughed. ‘And sneaky.’

Celessa sank onto Yaido’s bedside and let out a long breath of relief. Yaido looked back down at the veil. ‘You’ll look beautiful in it,’ said Celessa.

Yaido didn’t seem to hear her. She stared at the veil again and then folded it neatly and placed it on her bedside. ‘Since we’re giving gifts,’ she said, ‘I have something for you, too.’

Celessa’s entire body grew warm as Yaido picked up her pack and heaved it onto the bed. Yaido opened it and pulled out an orange mushroom from a heap inside. ‘Sunshrooms! I heard on the wind this morning that a great many of them grew in a forest beyond the farms. We can cook them up into as many meals as you can carry, and then you’ll be set for your trip up the mountain.’

An intense surge of both affection and alarm struck Celessa. She stared at the sunshrooms and managed to chuckle, which nearly turned into a sob. ‘You mean that while I was sneaking off to dye your veil, you were sneaking off to pick me sunshrooms?’

Yaido laughed. ‘We’re both sneaky river snails.’

Celessa sniffed. ‘Thank you,’ she said.

‘How are you faring with your plans?’

Celessa wiped her eyes. ‘I … I’m making progress.’

Yaido gripped her shoulder and gently shook it. ‘I just want to say that I truly admire what you’re doing. I know it must be daunting to see that mountain from here. I couldn’t do it. But you can. You don’t just have bravery on your side. You’ve got love, and devotion, and determination. I wish I had that.’

Celessa shrank into herself. She shook her head.

‘Is this about the bokoblins?’ said Yaido.

Celessa slumped forward and dropped her head face down in her hands. ‘No.’

‘Then what’s wrong?’

Celessa took a deep breath. ‘I can’t do it.’

Yaido’s silent confusion was palpable beside her. ‘You can’t go up the mountain?’

‘You don’t know how many times I’ve tried, Yaido. Every time I tell myself I’ll do it this time, I get to Hateno Village and see Mount Lanayru and everything just falls away. I can’t go through with it. I go back the way I came instead. Back to Dueling Peaks, like a coward, until I feel ashamed enough to try again.’

Yaido was silent.

‘So please, don’t call me brave,’ said Celessa. ‘I’m not inspiring. I’m just a failure. I’ve failed so many times a Yiga soldier knows my face.’

Yaido touched Celessa’s arm. ‘Listen to yourself. You’ve travelled between Dueling Peaks and Hateno Village multiple times - _alone._ Celessa, that _is_ impressive. And it’s given you such good endurance. All those journeys you call failures have been preparing you for this moment. You can do it this time!’

Celessa shook her head. Yaido gripped her shoulder again, and this time she gave it a mighty shake. ‘Yes. Yes, you can. Because I’m going with you.’

Celessa lifted her head and gaped at Yaido. ‘I can’t let you do that.’

Yaido crossed her arms. ‘Princess Zelda didn’t go alone. Why should you? You need an escort too.’ She flexed her arm and winked. ‘Who better than a Gerudo warrior?’

Celessa sat up straight. She opened her mouth and then closed it. Happiness and concern waged war inside her, and she wanted to cry and smile at the same time. ‘You’d do that for me?’

Yaido brushed the hair from Celessa’s face. ‘Of course.’ They stared at each other. Yaido blushed. ‘After all the hard selling you’ve been doing, I need to see this spring for myself.’

Celessa fell against Yaido and hugged her. Yaido froze. Then she gently stroked the back of Celessa’s head. Concern rippled back though Celessa, bringing her to her senses. She pulled away and grasped at Yaido's pack. 'Good thing you picked so many sunshrooms.'

Yaido smiled. 'It was fate. Now, let's make a start on those plans for Mount Lanayru, shall we?'


	5. Chapter 5

Celessa and Yaido giggled under their breath as they trundled up the hill beyond the windmills. In matching outfits of Hylian hoods, trousers, and warm doublets, they were like two thieves secreting a heavy loot in their packs out of the village, hidden by the pre-dawn darkness. They creeped past the sleeping homestead of a sheep and cattle farm, past a lake gleaming yellow in the rising sun, and into the forest behind it where Yaido had found the sunshrooms. Birds whistled above them as they came to the edge of the forest and stopped for a short rest. Just ahead, a path of sorts began up the rocky slope of Madorna Mountain, the last hurdle between Celessa and Mount Lanayru. She looked up along the slope to where snow waited above her and Yaido. Her breath caught in her throat. To have made it even this far beyond the village had once seemed so impossible. She turned to Yaido with starry eyes. ‘Are you ready?’

Yaido grinned and gestured to the path. ‘Ready when you are.’

Celessa’s first step onto the path sent shivers through. But what started as excitement became shivers of cold as she and Yaido marched higher and the air bit against their faces. Yaido laughed sharply behind Celessa. ‘You’d think we were already at the peak of the mountain,’ she said. Celessa grimaced in agreement.

They hadn’t even reached the snow before the temperature plummeted again. Yaido’s humour failed her this time and she gasped in outrage. ‘If you told me my face was frozen, I’d believe you.’

Celessa hastened to tighten her hood. ‘Don’t worry. We’ve got more than enough food to keep us protected. Speaking of which.’

They stopped in their tracks and rummaged through the wood and torches in their packs to pull out sunshroom rice balls. With a few bites, warmth from the sunshroom began to emanate from Celessa’s stomach to the rest of her body. Yaido rubbed the tip of her nose. ‘I’m not sure this rice ball is working properly.’

‘Try some of mine.’

Yaido took a bite from the offered rice ball and Celessa waited, but Yaido’s expression didn’t lighten. Celessa smiled apologetically. ‘I suppose even with the clothes and the food, we’re always going to be a little bit cold,’ she said. ‘We’ll just make sure to keep a good pace - that’ll help keep us warm, too.’

Yaido grumbled an assent and finished her rice ball. They continued up the slope. Celessa watched with a regretful sense of foreboding as snow started to appear in patches along the ground. Mist appeared on their path. Then Celessa and Yaido came over the crest of the slope and down onto a smooth stretch of snow, soft under their feet. Their pace slowed as they moved across it. ‘It’s kind of pretty, isn’t it?’ said Yaido.

Celessa smiled, surprised. ‘Much prettier than I imagined. This must be your first time seeing it too, right?’

‘There’s said to be snow on the highlands around the desert, but I’ve never been. As you can imagine, Gerudos don’t make a point of visiting cold places.’

‘You might be the first Gerudo to visit the Spring of Wisdom.’

Yaido laughed. ‘First and last.’

Their talk was cut short as they came to the next slope of the mountain ridge. Atop the ridge stood the three large trees a villager in Hateno had advised them to climbs towards. Celessa started up the slope and found it much steeper than the last, forcing her to lead Yaido on a criss-crossing path along the slope’s width to find its walkable parts. It was early afternoon by the time Celessa and Yaido arrived, panting, at the base of the hill that held the last of the three trees. Yaido, teeth chattering, sat down upon a rock to rest. Celessa continued up the hill to the tree. From the top of the hill, the valley on the other side of Madorna Mountain opened up beneath her to where Mount Lanayru awaited. A carved path spiralled around Mount Lanayru, leading all the way up into the pinnacles of ice at the mountain’s peak. Celessa noted that if she and Yaido followed the valley down to the base of the mountain, it would only be a matter of finding the start of the trail and then following it to the peak. She felt a smile tug at her lips - the first she’d felt when looking at the Mount Lanayru since she began her attempts to reach it.

Celessa skidded down the hillside back to Yaido, who was looking down onto the small sunlit rooves of Hateno Village while she ate another rice ball. Her mind seemed far away, and her brow was furrowed. ‘What are you thinking about?’ said Celessa.

‘Nothing, really. I was just reminded of something someone told me when I was young.’

‘Oh?’

Yaido lowered her rice ball. ‘A long time ago, my ancestors built enormous statues in honour of our legendary Heroines. The statues stand to this day - they’re truly huge, and great feats of masonry. Anyway, one Heroine had betrayed the others, so my ancestors needed to place her statue somewhere fitting.’ She laughed bitterly. ‘They’re said to have placed her in the most miserable location they could think of: in the snow of the Gerudo Highlands.’

Celessa winced. ‘Oh.’

Yaido stood, and Celessa wondered if she was about to announce that she’d gone as far as she could, but Yaido simply crammed the rest of the rice ball into her mouth and rubbed her mittened hands together, albeit with a scowl.

While they prepared to leave Madorna Mountain, Celessa relayed to Yaido what she saw of the valley and the path they could take. Yaido pointed to a section of the spiralling path along the mountain. ‘We could cut across the valley and reach the path easily enough from there. Why make things difficult for ourselves going all the way to bottom?’

‘It might be harder, but it’ll be faithful to what Princess Zelda went through,’ said Celessa. ‘Her and everyone else who made a pilgrimage.’ She straightened her pack. ‘It was a very serious journey. In fact, it used to be law that no one under seventeen could climb the mountain.’

Yaido pursed her lips but didn’t argue as Celessa continued her lecture down into the valley. Celessa grew quiet however as their descent brought them close enough to Mount Lanayru for them to only see the very tips of the peak’s icicles above the mountainside. Along the valley floor, great slabs of ice protruded up along the snow like the cracked mud of a drying puddle. There was no wind, and with the snow muffling Celessa and Yaido’s footprints, the only sound to fill the valley was their occasional sniffs, which in turn sent the only other sign of life, a snowcoat fox, scampering out of sight. For all the travelling she’d done on her own, Celessa was pressed to think of a time when the road had seemed more lonely. Snow started to fall upon the valley, and they paused to take in the sight. Celessa reached out and caught some snow in her palm. Yaido suddenly pointed ahead of them, looking beyond the valley into the distant mountains of Hyrule. Beyond the falling snow was the small, grim silhouette of Hyrule Castle, caught between pulsing clouds of malice and four guardian-like lasers reaching across the horizon. Dread froze Celessa and Yaido in place as they took in the sight.

‘One hundred years of this,’ said Yaido. ‘Princess Zelda … she’s still in there, then?’

Celessa shivered. ‘Yes. In some form, at least.’

They were quiet for a little while. Snow began to settle on their hoods.

‘I saw the castle back when I was travelling to Dueling Peaks,’ said Yaido. ‘Only there were three lasers then.’

‘You should stop by Wetland Stable some time. The castle’s so close I got to watch the lasers appear one by one.’ Celessa bit her lip. ‘What do you think they mean?’

Yaido tore her eyes away from the castle and brushed the snow off Celessa’s head. ‘They mean we have to keep going.’

They didn’t get far before however Celessa shuddered to a stop and put out a warning hand to Yaido. Ahead of them, the ground disappeared into a swirling white void. Yaido and Celessa held each other’s arm to steady themselves and approached the edge. Beyond the drop, the valley continued down into snow-capped trees, walled in by mountains. Directly below Celessa and Yaido however was a path of steps that rose up along their small cliffside. Celessa tugged Yaido’s sleeve. ‘That’s it - that’s what we need to follow to reach the spring.’

But neither Celessa nor Yaido were skilled climbers, so just as they’d done to scale Madorna Mountain, they trudged alongside the edge of the cliff, looking for an easier approach. They came upon a thick pillar of ice that rose up above the cliff from the path below. A shorter pillar sat next to it, not tall enough to peek above the cliffside, but enough for Celessa and Yaido to ease themselves down onto and then slide a short way to the snowy steps beside it.

Upon landing, Celessa touched her hand to the steps in awe. Yaido looked back at the pillars. ‘I don’t think we’ll be able to climb these when we return.’ She rubbed her chin. ‘But I suppose it’s no matter. On our way back we can take the shortcut we ignored back the tree.’ She blushed. ‘Uh - and by “ignore” I of course mean acknowledged as unfit for such a pilgrimage.’

Celessa sighed. ‘Right.’ She looked upwards along the steps, which were bordered by the odd rock and tree, and then looked down to where the steps disappeared along the mountain around a bend in the path. She started walking down the steps.

‘Wait,’ said Yaido. ‘I thought the spring was at the peak of the mountain.’

Celessa paused. She exhaled sharply and looked over her shoulder. ‘Yes. But Princess Zelda would have started from the bottom. So would everyone. And that’ll include us.’

Yaido frowned. ‘Celessa, you can’t be serious. We’ve been lucky so far but think of all the monsters we might have to deal with if we go down there, only to have to come back anyway.’ She rubbed her hands together. ‘Besides, I think the air’s getting even colder. We should look for somewhere to camp.’

Celessa gritted her teeth. ‘Stay, then, and look.’

Yaido went to speak and then stopped. Celessa could see she was trying to compose herself, and it only deepened Celessa’s aggravation.

Yaido was about to speak again when something quivered in the corner of her eye. The snowy ground erupted beside her. Two large, white chuchus bounced and landed between Celessa and Yaido. Their red and yellow eyes fixed upon Celessa, and Celessa stumbled backwards down the steps. The chuchus pursued. Celessa turned and ran.

Yaido picked up a stone and hurled it at the chuchus. The stone pierced through one and the chuchu exploded into a puff of ice. Yaido laughed. ‘Did you see that?’

‘I’m too busy being _chased_ ,’ snapped Celessa.

‘Hit it with something - just don’t get too close. They explode.’

Celessa looked over her shoulder and saw the remaining chuchu had slowed. She stopped and looked up at Yaido, but Yaido didn’t move, seemingly serious about her suggestion. Celessa took out her sword.

‘No - throw something like I did.’

‘Like you could do again, you mean.’

‘Go on,’ said Yaido. ‘Chuchus are going to be the least of your worries on this mountain.’

Celessa gritted her teeth again. She fished a stone out of the snow by her feet and threw it at the chuchu. The stone hit the chuchu square between the eyes and bounced away. The chuchu quivered for a moment and then launched itself towards her. Celessa squeaked. She managed to dodge the chuchu as it landed by her feet, and she sprinted back up the steps.

Yaido laughed, not unkindly. ‘Remind me to teach you how to throw,’ she said. She picked up another rock, tossed it into the air, and caught it with a grin. As she went to throw it however, her foot slipped on the melted snow of the step and flew skywards. Celessa watched in horror as Yaido fell on her back with an unceremonious thud and skidded down the steps into the chuchu’s path. With no time to think, Celessa scooped up a branch from the ground and bore down upon the chuchu. The chuchu bounced and landed a few steps below Yaido’s feet. Remembering Yaido’s warning, Celessa used the blunt length of her branch and swatted at the chuchu until it rolled off the side of the mountain and fell out of sight.

Yaido patted Celessa’s calf. ‘Good work.'

Celessa tossed the branch and helped Yaido back onto her feet. Yaido winced as she righted her pack, and then her expression froze. ‘What’s wrong?’ said Celessa.

‘It feels a little light … oh - oh no.’

Celessa jumped back as Yaido threw herself down onto the steps, then she saw the wood that had fallen from Yaido’s pack. But Yaido ignored the wood and scrabbled instead towards her food, which had scattered even further down the steps. Celessa started down the steps as well, but before either of them could get close the frigid air of the mountain froze the food before their eyes. Yaido’s shoulders sagged and she wailed in despair. Celessa closed her eyes. She took a deep breath.

Yaido reached desperately for the wood instead. Celessa saw the bottom of her pack and pointed out the hole torn into it, no doubt from the slide down the steps. Yaido stopped her collection and hung her head. ‘I’m sorry. If I’d just killed the chuchu right away, this wouldn’t have happened.’

Celessa helped Yaido to her feet again. ‘It’s alright,’ she said, though she couldn’t look Yaido in the eye. ‘I should have enough food to last us most of the journey. I’m sure we’ll find other things to eat along the way as well.’

Yaido sniffed and nodded. She rubbed the tip of her nose again. Celessa pursed her lips. ‘Come on. Let’s head up the mountain while there’s still daylight.’

Yaido gave a guilty nod.

It was dark, however, by the time Yaido and Celessa fought their way past frost pebblits and a camouflaged lizalfos to find flat enough ground to set up shelter and make a fire. While the weak flames spluttered against the dark, damp air, Celessa and Yaido huddled close to each other and ate Celessa’s sunshroom stir-fry. They murmured in relief as the warmth renewed inside them, and then, with that primary concern taken care of, their previous tension returned and they eased further apart around the fire. Yaido rubbed her cold nose in silence. Celessa’s brows furrowed as she watched the fire, and her eyes began to glaze over. Yaido stole glances at her, waiting for her expression to shift before she spoke, but it never did. The silence soon became too much. ‘What are you thinking about?’ Yaido ventured.

Celessa came back with a slow blink. ‘I was thinking about Princess Zelda’s journey to the spring, and how it was so soon after she’d left the spring that the Calamity struck.’ She frowned deeper. ‘Imagine the clarity and determination she must have had to have faced it with no hesitation. The Spring of Wisdom must have helped her see what she needed to do. I’m sure of it, now.’

Yaido went to speak, but Celessa was already drifting back into her thoughts, so Yaido said nothing. They sat with their silent ruminations, Yaido tending to the fire, until a sudden wind buffeted against them. Pink lights and soot-like motes appeared around the fire. Celessa’s heart caught in her throat. ‘No,’ she breathed.

As she stood, a pink shadow fell upon the mountain. She stumbled from the fireside to the edge of the mountain and looked out over the frozen, pink land. The motes around her thickened. Red clouds filled the sky in a stormy rage. Then Celessa saw it - the blood moon, crawling out from behind the mountain into the sky. Hands shaking with fury, she shouted a curse at the moon.

Yaido hurried to Celessa’s side and guided her back to the safety of the fire. She gestured for Celessa to sit again, but Celessa shook off her hand. ‘It’s alright,’ said Yaido. ‘Yes, the monsters will reform, but we won’t have to come back this way again, remember?’

Celessa said nothing. The anger had dwindled out of her, leaving in its place a despondent anxiety. While Yaido took her place by the fire again, Celessa stared at the flames. She began to pace around the campfire, shooting a look every so often at the moon. Yaido, bewildered, watched on. ‘Is there something wrong?’

Celessa stopped and threw her hand up at the sky. ‘The blood moon is an omen, Yaido. It’s probably a sign from the Goddess herself, telling me not to bother her.’

Yaido remained bewildered. ‘Blood moons are just a fact of life.’

‘But why appear now? It must mean something.’ She clutched her face. ‘This whole pilgrimage is doomed. We should go back, before something even worse happens.’ She started to pace again, and Yaido took hold of her arm to stop her.

‘You can’t keep thinking that way. We’re here. And soon we’ll be at the spring.’

Celessa took a deep breath. ‘I know.’ She sank down beside Yaido. ‘It’s just … everything feels wrong.’ She hugged her knees.

‘How do you know it’s wrong?’

‘This isn’t how it would have been for Princess Zelda.’

‘How do you know?’

Celessa looked away. Yaido’s voice softened. ‘It just seems like a lot of pressure to put on yourself for no reason.’

Celessa shot Yaido a desperate look. ‘But everything _needs_ to go right. I don’t want to get to the spring and come away with nothing.’ She hung her head. ‘I can’t end up exactly where I started. I need to know what to do with my life.’

Yaido didn’t know what to say to this. Her shoulders sank with defeat, and she found herself thinking back to the talk with Ralera in Hateno Village, and the same bleak truth she heard from Ralera that had left her with nothing comforting to say. It struck Yaido that Celessa might end up in the same position as Ralera, searching for small contentments in a life she didn’t want. Yaido shook her head involuntarily. Celessa looked up from the fire. ‘Something wrong?’

‘Tell me something: what do you _want_ to do with your life?’

Celessa gave a half-hearted laugh. ‘I don’t know. I don’t know what I _can_ do. It seems like any good I put into the world isn’t going to last.’

‘I know. But what if it did?’

Celessa considered this for a moment and shrugged. ‘Why get my hopes up? I’m happy to leave it in the hands of someone who understands fate much better than I do.’ As this hung in the air however, Yaido saw the ghost of a smile on Celessa’s face. ‘I suppose travelling has been good for me,’ said Celessa. ‘I wouldn’t be sad to do more of that.’

‘Always moving,’ said Yaido. ‘Like one of those restless crickets.’ Celessa gave her a proper smile. ‘There’s always the other springs,’ said Yaido.

Celessa imagined herself continuing the same thread of following the princess’s footsteps, learning more about her journey, perhaps even uncovering secrets buried over the past century, but the idea didn’t fill her with joy as it once might have. The entire pilgrimage was starting to feel futile. Her brow furrowed again, and Yaido seemed to read her mind. ‘What do you think Zelda would say to you if she knew you were making this pilgrimage?’

Celessa’s cheeks grew hot at the very thought. She couldn’t even speak to protest.

‘I’m sure she’d want you to do your best,’ said Yaido. ‘That’s all you can ask of yourself, too.’

Celessa nodded. She didn’t want to argue, even if she didn’t quite agree. It was better to not have Yaido keep worrying. ‘All I can do is pray, I suppose. Will you pray with me when we get to the spring?’

‘Oh. Well, I could.’ Yaido fidgeted. ‘But it would be an empty gesture.’

‘There’s no one else you could pray to besides the Goddess? Surely there’s some kind of wisdom you’d like to receive too.’

Yaido shrugged. ‘Not really.’

Celessa’s eyes widened. ‘Truly?’

‘Yes.’

‘ _Nothing_?’

Yaido smiled. ‘Is that really so hard to believe?’

Celessa went to speak, and then stopped herself. She shook her head in bemusement. At Yaido’s questioning look, Celessa buried the thought and forced a laugh. ‘First you tell me not to put so much pressure on myself, and then you tell me you have nothing to gain from the spring. Now I’m worried this is going to be a worthless journey for _you_.’

‘Of course it won’t. I’m happy just being with you.’

Celessa, blushing furiously again, jumped up to check the fire and hide her face from view. ‘I like being with you, too,’ she eventually managed. ‘Even if I’m a little bit hungrier for it.’

Yaido laughed. Celessa laughed too, sweaty and anxious all over again. They set about preparing for sleep, while above them, the pale, de-cursed moon made its descent over Hyrule Castle.


	6. Chapter 6

Yaido and Celessa shook free of their snow-covered shelter to a mercifully clear sky. In the dull light of the pre-dawn they managed to find hearty truffles growing by the trees near their shelter. Although tasty when roasted, the truffles did nothing to stem the cold seeping in through Yaido and Celessa’s clothes. Celessa broke her sunshroom omelette in two and handed half to Yaido. With that coveted warmth spreading through them, they proceeded up the steps of the mountain again, Yaido with her dragonbone club ready, and Celessa with a lit torch held aloft.

The first monsters to contend with were two frost pebblits. Their stubby bodies proved to be easy targets for Yaido’s club, and she whacked them off the mountainside like golf balls. Celessa tried to stifle a laugh.

Alerted by the commotion, a snow-cloaked lizalfos waiting further up the steps spotted Yaido and Celessa and launched itself into the air. Yaido saw the hurtling body and pushed Celessa aside just in time as the lizalfos landed spear-first between them. Celessa swung her torch and clipped the lizalfos’ arm. The lizalfos shrieked, and the shriek lingered in the air as the lizalfos’ body vanished into a cloud of icy particles. Yaido and Celessa looked down at the unsavoury collection of lizalfos remains on the steps and Yaido clapped Celessa’s shoulder. ‘Nice shot.’

Celessa smiled proudly to herself. They continued more slowly up the steps. Eventually they couldn’t have gone faster even if they’d wanted to; the air was bitingly cold despite their protection, and their limbs were growing stiff. When they paused along the steps to rest, Celessa dug through her pack and shoved a chunk of sunshroom rice ball into her mouth. She handed the rest to Yaido. Yaido protested, but as Celessa pointed out, she at least had the torch to keep her warm; Yaido was on her own.

The climb became a little easier after they’d eaten, but more lizalfos appeared, and then more chuchus again, and more pebblits. It was snowing by the time Yaido and Celessa’s feet dragged onto the flatter ground of a small plateau. What had looked at first glance to be another pillar of ice marking the steps was in fact a pillar of white stone. There was another pillar on the opposite side of the path, though fallen amongst the snow. Yaido and Celessa exchanged furtive smiles at this promising sight. Celessa was about to speak when her eyes suddenly fixed and narrowed on something beyond Yaido.

Yaido turned and saw the pale, misshapen silhouette of a lizalfos in the snow. She reached for her club, which at this point was more than a little battered. Celessa tightened her grip on the torch. Breathing deep to steady herself, Yaido raised the dragonbone club and threw it with all her might. The club tore through the air and smashed against the lizalfos. The lizalfos crumpled but didn’t revert to a cloud of malice.

Yaido saw a boomerang drop to the lizalfos’ side and she ran to seize it. Celessa hurried forward and smacked her torch against the stunned lizalfos, but the lizalfos didn’t disintegrate. It flipped to its feet and scrambled to find the boomerang. Yaido swung the stolen weapon at the lizalfos' head, but the lizalfos dodged her blow and leapt across the plateau to safety. Celessa went to chase it, and Yaido grabbed her arm to hold her back. The lizalfos sized them up, jumping from leg to leg.

‘Get behind me,’ said Yaido. She raised the boomerang, not, admittedly, quite sure what to do with it. The lizalfos crouched low and charged towards her.

Celessa gave a sudden yell behind Yaido. A rock flew past Yaido’s head and collided with the lizalfos. The lizalfos shrieked, and the rock flew a few more feet and landed behind the cloud of malice in its wake. Yaido turned around.

Celessa, breathless, tried to smile at Yaido amid her panting. She looked down at her hands in surprise. ‘I’m not going to know myself by the time we leave this mountain.’

Yaido blushed with admiration. She collected the extinguished torch from the ground and handed it shyly back to Celessa. ‘Thank you,’ she said.

Celessa was too tired to feel self-conscious. They sat against the fallen pillar to rest, and by now the sun was directly above them, a pale blur of an orb against the grey, snowy sky. Celessa started to shiver beside Yaido. Yaido took some wood and flint from her pack and used the boomerang to spark a fire. Neither wanted to light a torch and move on just yet, so they took their chance to warm themselves and huddled around the fire.

‘We must be nearly there,’ said Yaido.

Celessa, wide-eyed, nodded at the fire.

‘I hope these monsters haven’t spoiled your excitement.’

Celessa smiled to reassure her. In truth, getting to the spring was the least of her worries. It was what would happen when they got there that still concerned her.

‘It shouldn’t take more than another day to get back off the mountain,’ Yaido went on. ‘Not that I’m already thinking about leaving.’

Celessa rubbed Yaido’s arm. ‘I wouldn’t blame you if you were.’

They lit the torches - one for Celessa, and one for Yaido. Slower and stiffer than ever, they continued from the plateau. Thick spikes of ice had grown like a wall along the outer edge of the path, forcing a narrow passage to reach the steps. Flapping around the passage were three white keese. Celessa and Yaido groaned. ‘Here we go,’ said Yaido.

Celessa took a deep breath. They marched up the passage and the keese spotted them immediately. Undeterred by the flames, they swooped down upon Yaido and Celessa’s heads. Yaido and Celessa stooped and held their torches aloft. Keese wings soon rained upon their hoods. More frustrated than relieved, Yaido and Celessa shook off the wings and continued through the passage.

The return to the steps was an unwelcome punishment on their legs. Before they’d gotten far however, two white chuchus dropped onto the steps, blocking their path. Yaido violently cursed them. Celessa lowered her torch to the chuchus’ height. ‘Careful, now,’ she said.

‘I know,’ grunted Yaido. She swung her torch at the nearest chuchu and it disintegrated. The other chuchu bounced towards Celessa but it was no match for the impatient jab of her torch. Yaido brushed the specks of burst chuchu off her face. ‘ _Sa_ _’oten_. Let this be the end of them.’

She turned and saw another chuchu advancing on Celessa’s back. As Yaido called out to warn her, the chuchu bounced forward and slammed into Celessa’s legs. Its touch turned Celessa white with frost, freezing everything from her stance to her look of surprise in place.

Yaido’s heart skipped a beat. She charged down the steps and stomped the dulled chuchu until it collapsed to quivering white jelly. Behind her, the ice shattered from Celessa’s body and she fell to the ground. Her torch hit the snow and snuffed out with a hiss. Yaido dropped to her knees and turned Celessa over. She brushed away the frost still clinging to her hair. ‘Celessa?’

Celessa groaned. ‘I’m alright.’

‘Alright? You were frozen!’ Yaido pulled off her mittens and pressed her hands to Celessa’s face. ‘No - what am I doing?’ she muttered. ‘I need to make a fire. I’m sorry, Celessa. Just - just hold on.’

While Yaido rushed to open her pack, Celessa looked up to the pillars of ice above them. The sky was alarmingly close - for one dizzy moment Celessa felt as though she was going to slide from the ground and fall into it, and then she managed to roll onto her side. Her body certainly felt colder than it ever had before, but feeling was quickly returning to her limbs. More than that, a current of excitement buzzed through her. She climbed into a crouch. ‘Don’t bother, Yaido. We’re almost at the spring.’

Yaido looked up in alarm. ‘If we’re nearly there then we can afford to wait a moment and get you warm.’

Celessa looked up the steps. They’d climbed so high up the mountain the spiral of the path now curved tightly out of sight in front of her. The spring had to be waiting just beyond her where she couldn’t see. Celessa grinned. She rose to her feet and stretched her arms and legs, testing their feeling. Then she tightened her hood around her face and continued up the steps.

‘Celessa!’

‘Come on, it’s right above us!’

Yaido sighed with defeat. She caught up with Celessa, handed her another torch, and they inched their way up the steps, passing another stone pillar. If it were possible to move any slower, they might have done so out of trepidation. Celessa’s teeth chattered but she barely heard it over the pounding of her heart. Then they rounded a corner of ice pillars and there were no more steps to climb.

The first thing to catch their eye were the jaw-dropping icicles they’d seen all the way from the road to Hateno Village. The icicles, just as impossibly huge as they’d seemed from the ground, angled in such a way that made the mountain peak look even taller. While Yaido stood agape at this sight, Celessa’s eyes fell to a Goddess statue waiting in the distance below the crown of icicles. An aura of light danced around the statue, pulsing with red, blue, and green.

Celessa’s eyes filled with tears. She brushed them away and saw a brick pathway waiting ahead of her, leading into the spring. She led the way along the path, following it across a pool of water. A small set of steps led up to a dais and a second pool. Stepping stones led from the dais to the stone plinth of the Goddess statue, whose light had now vanished with Celessa and Yaido’s approach. Celessa and Yaido stood upon the dais and looked across at the Goddess’s patient smile.

Celessa was quiet, save for the chattering of her teeth. She closed her eyes and listened to the gentle bubbling of water. She wasn’t quite sure what to expect of Princess Zelda’s presence, but she trusted that she’d know it if she felt it.

Yaido didn’t want to speak and ruin the moment, but Celessa’s teeth chattering was starting to make her panic. She moved a little closer to Celessa and caught a flash of blue on the rock wall behind the statue. Yaido craned her neck and saw the mouth of a cave. A shrine sat inside, sheltered from the elements. An urge to laugh rose inside Yaido. She bit her tongue.

Celessa opened her eyes and shivered, but whether the shiver was from cold or excitement, she couldn’t tell anymore. She looked up at the face of the Goddess again and left the dais for the spring. The spring water rose up to her shins, unable to penetrate her boots just yet, but the shock of the cold still made her wobble.

Yaido winced. Celessa righted herself. She looked up at the Goddess again and moved from one stepping stone to the next. Already her legs were growing numb and she stopped, struggling to keep her balance. The torch fell from her grip and hit the water. Celessa sank to her knees.

‘I’m so sorry,’ breathed Yaido. She waded into the water and lifted Celessa onto her shoulder. Celessa didn’t have the strength to protest as Yaido carried her past the statue into the safety of the cave. Water rippled along the cave floor, but the base of the shrine rose above it, cold but dry. Yaido set Celessa down in the nook of the shrine’s entrance. Celessa, shivering, leaned heavily against the wall.

‘Stay with me,’ said Yaido. Her heart pounded as she fumbled through her pack for the last of the wood. She managed to get a fire going on the shrine’s alien surface and Celessa crawled towards its warmth. Yaido removed Celessa’s damp hood and draped it over the pedestal beside them. She grabbed the blankets from both their packs and wrapped them close around Celessa’s hunched frame. ‘Do you have any food left?’ said Yaido.

Celessa nodded. Yaido searched through Celessa’s pack again and found the last of her sunshroom rice balls. She pushed them into Celessa’s hands. ‘I’m going to get more wood, and hopefully something more to eat. Something other than mushrooms. Wouldn’t that be nice?’

Celessa smiled weakly. Yaido lit a new torch. ‘I’ll be back as soon as I can.’

 

* * *

 

Celessa fought to keep her eyes open. Her clothes had dried from the fire and she could feel her fingers and toes again, but shivers still wracked her body as she waited for Yaido’s return. With only the wind outside for company, the exhaustion of the day’s journey threatened to overcome her. Keeping her awake however were the glimpses of light she caught around the Goddess statue, always from the corner of her eye when she dared to look away from the mouth of the cave.

Against her better judgement, Celessa’s thoughts drifted back to her arrival at the spring. It was just as well that she’d given up on tradition. Yaido was right - they should have made a fire to warm herself. Maybe then she could have faced the Goddess with dignity. There was another troubling thought, too: that as far as she could tell, she’d sensed nothing of Princess Zelda at the spring. But it had always been something of a longshot. The fate of Princess Zelda was unclear, after all. Perhaps there was more Celessa needed to do to sense the Princess’s spiritual energy. Or perhaps she’d already ruined her chance.

Celessa stopped herself. She could almost hear Yaido’s voice in her ear telling her not to beat herself up. Celessa’s heart hurt at the thought of Yaido still out on the mountain. Tears hovered threateningly in her eyes. She forced them back and kept her sight on the cave mouth. Right up until she had a long blink.

Celessa opened her eyes to glimmers of light on the water of the cave floor. The lights around the Goddess had returned, only they didn’t fade away this time. Celessa watched, barely daring to breathe, until the light disappeared once more and the water dulled. Still frozen with awe, Celessa sat thoughtless by the fire until a little bell rang in her head that a presence had entered the spring. She waited for Yaido’s footsteps but nothing came. No, she realised, though she wasn’t sure how. Something told her this presence was something else entirely. Celessa’s voice shrank to a whisper. ‘Princess Zelda? Is that you?’

The moment she’d voiced this, Celessa struggled out of her blankets. She ran with all the speed her aching muscles could lend her out of the cave and around the Goddess statue’s plinth. Her eyes fell upon an unearthly figure of aquamarine light on the path to the dais, and she staggered to a stop. Behind them, a procession of more aquamarine figures followed from the mountain path. Their light cast a soft glow on the snow around them, but like the tip of a candle flame the figures were not quite there. Celessa clapped a hand to her mouth and backed away into the wall around the spring. The figure closest seemed to be a woman, her back bent and her hair pale with age. She crossed the dais and entered the water, leaving only the barest of ripples as she came towards the Goddess statue. Celessa realised with a start that another ghostly woman already knelt in front of the statue, her hands clasped in prayer. The woman lifted her head, showing herself to be much younger than the woman behind her. Before Celessa could make out much else, the young woman faded out of sight. The old woman knelt before the statue and began to pray in the young woman’s place. If she was aware of Celessa’s presence she didn’t show it.

Celessa, for her part, remained still and silent as the procession continued. She counted at least ten more women along the path, all Hylians of varying heights and ages, dressed in a similar elegant fashion to each other, and even walking with the same regal posture. Princesses, Celessa realised. Queens. Without noticing, she reached up and held herself.

The old woman had gone, and another woman took her place. Celessa watched the same exchange take place again and again, the procession showing no sign of ending from around the mountain, until tears clouded her eyes and the ghosts became bubbles of lights along the path.

What seemed like both an age and a fleeting moment passed, and the last woman stepped through the water to the Goddess. Celessa stirred. Should she try to speak to her, she wondered, and ask for some otherworldly wisdom? Would it hurt to try?

Her feet were numb beneath her, and her muscles ached with stiffness as she tried to unlock them from her rigid pose. But even as she struggled forward through the water, the woman didn’t stir from her prayer. Celessa, panting, stopped and knelt in the water beside her. The woman lifted her head but she didn’t look to Celessa. Celessa spotted a Gerudo bracelet on the woman’s wrist, and in her surprise, whatever words she might have said vanished from her mouth. The woman looked up to the Goddess, and in a moment she was gone.

Celessa wiped her eyes. A dull pain started along her thighs where the water was soaking through. She looked back down the path but the aquamarine lights were gone. It was just her now, and the Goddess. The Goddess’s face smiled down at her, welcoming Celessa to pray and complete her pilgrimage at long last. Celessa squeezed her eyes shut and clasped her hands together.

She hadn’t rehearsed for this moment. Back on the road looking up at the distant peak of Mount Lanayru, it hadn’t occurred to her that there’d be anything else to think about once she reached the spring.

_Goddess Hylia, I hope you can hear me. I hope I can make sense._

The bracelet on the woman’s wrist flashed through Celessa’s mind.

 _I have an urgent request. My dear friend went down the mountain and she hasn_ _’t come back._ _I_ _’d never forgive myself if something happened to her. Please, watch over Yaido. Please guide her safely back to_ _your spring._

* * *

 

Night had fallen by the time footsteps splashed through the spring. Celessa lifted her head.

Far from the battered mess Celessa had feared, Yaido swept in through the mouth of the cave and pulled off her snow-covered hood with a flourish. To find Celessa still hunched and miserable by the fire, however, was not a sight that brought Yaido relief. Yaido dropped her pack and knelt beside Celessa, her face filled with concern. She tried to smile. ‘Hello, restless cricket. You don’t look much better than when I left.’

Celessa felt so weak with relief it took a moment for her to react. She threw her arms around Yaido’s neck. ‘Thank the Goddess, you’re alright.’

Yaido held her. Her weight started to sink onto Celessa, and Celessa realised how exhausted she must be. Her clothes, too, were damp. Celessa dropped her blankets and crawled to her pack. She grabbed a bottle and passed it to Yaido. ‘Remember this?’

Yaido’s eyes widened. ‘The elixir the truffle hunters gave us. Shouldn’t we keep this for an emergency?’

‘I’d say its time has come.’

Too cold to argue the point, Yaido pinched her nose and downed the elixir. She changed into her dry Gerudo clothing and Celessa threw the blankets over her. ‘What about you?’ said Yaido.

‘I’ll be fine. Tell me what happened to you.’

Yaido huddled a little closer to the fire and spoke of her mission to find wood, which sadly had cost her the boomerang. The mission for food had also been a little fraught; after losing the boomerang, a wolf pack chased her halfway down the mountain, only for her stumble across a spear dropped by a lizalfos killed earlier that day. ‘I hope you like wolf meat.’

Celessa went to Yaido’s pack, gently reprimanding Yaido as she tried to help, and set about preparing the meat.

Yaido watched Celessa for a moment and cleared her throat. ‘About earlier, at the spring. I’m sorry I —’

‘No,’ said Celessa. ‘You did the right thing. And thank you.’

Yaido’s shoulders sagged with relief. Celessa shot her an apologetic look. ‘I have to admit though; I went back out there while you were gone.’ She quickly relayed what she’d witnessed at the spring, and while this did little to quell Yaido’s dismay, Celessa was now too enthralled by the memory to notice Yaido’s frown. She cut up the meat distractedly. ‘I suppose I don’t really know what I was looking at,’ she murmured.

‘Unsurprising,’ said Yaido. ‘People get delirious when the weather’s too hot. Maybe the same thing happens in the cold.’

‘No. Well, yes, maybe. I meant that I don’t know what they were doing there. All of them at once like that. Do you think they might have come back to pray for Hyrule?’

Yaido looked over to the stone plinth of the Goddess statue and her frown lifted. ‘It’s a nice thought.’

‘I don’t think there’s any other place it could happen. There must be a reason that princesses always made a pilgrimage to this particular spring. Some special connection.’

Yaido’s eyes widened as Celessa spoke. ‘Wait - Celessa - _your_ prayer! Did you do it?’

Celessa smiled. It all seemed a little overwrought now that Yaido was back and in such good spirits, but for all Celessa knew it was her prayer that helped that happen. Yaido took Celessa’s smile as an affirmative. ‘Well?’ she laughed. ‘Did you get what you wanted?’

‘Yes. I … I’ll tell you about it when we’re off the mountain.’

Perplexed by the lack of excitement, Yaido considered Celessa’s calm demeanour carefully and had no choice but to take her at her word. She smiled despite herself and took hold of Celessa’s hand. ‘I’m very happy for you.’

Celessa smiled back at Yaido and pulled away to start cooking the meat. ‘You know, I keep meaning to ask you. Who is you pray to, Yaido?’

Yaido’s smile vanished. She looked to the fire. ‘Gerudo pray to their ancestors.’

Occupied by the meat, Celessa’s face lit up. ‘Really? That’s so interesting! But then of course it makes perfect sense given what you said about your ancestors making statues to honour _their_ ancestors.’ She forgot the meat for a moment to consider this. ‘Goodness, you must have a lot of people you can call upon.’

‘As far back as there’s been Gerudo.’

‘Do you pray to them often?’

‘Some do.’

‘But not you?’

Yaido sighed. ‘No, not at the moment. I don’t think they’d listen to me right now.’

Celessa frowned. She turned to look at Yaido. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, what help do I deserve when I haven’t done my part to honour them and the bloodline that connects us? What have I done to help the Gerudo?’ She pulled her blankets tighter around herself. Her voice became quiet. ‘I’ve practically turned my back on them.’

Tears of guilt sprang to Celessa’s eyes. ‘I didn’t realise this was such a burden on you. Not like this.’

‘Forget I mentioned it. It’s not something for you to worry about.’

Celessa lowered her head. ‘I’m so sorry, Yaido. I’m sorry I let you come with me. It was so horribly selfish.’

Yaido turned to her in alarm. ‘Not at all. I wanted to come. I’d rather be freezing in this cave with you than waiting at some pond for a man.’

‘I know. But you came all this way for your people, and instead of making things easier for you, I let you get distracted. I knew it was selfish, but I did it anyway. Now to think you can’t even pray to your ancestors anymore.’

Yaido flushed with deep embarrassment. ‘Celessa, trust me. It’s what I deserve.’

‘ _You_? How can that be true? What could you have done? Surely nothing so bad it takes away the brave and selfless things you’ve done.’

Yaido winced. ‘Don’t.’ Her arms slipped down to shield her stomach. ‘I … I’ve been a coward. All this time. Right from the beginning.’

‘A coward? Is that all?’

‘That’s bad enough! Gerudo are supposed to be strong. And loyal. We’re supposed to have conviction. I’ve been none of that.’ She winced again. ‘My ancestors should be ashamed of me.’

Celessa wiped her eyes on her sleeve. ‘You say “should”, meaning that might not be the case?’

Yaido shook her head. ‘Don’t. I’m not interested in debating this.’

Celessa frowned. She stood and checked on the meat. ‘I’ve been a coward too, you know. If you want to think less of yourself for something like that then you’ll have to think less of me too.’

‘No,’ spluttered Yaido. She crossed her arms. ‘I won’t.’

‘Give me one good reason why you shouldn’t.’

‘Our situations are completely different. I … I let you think I was travelling for a noble reason. And maybe it did start out that way, or at least, partly start out that way.’ She clutched her head. ‘But then it stopped being about that.’

Celessa’s voice softened. ‘The reason you left Gerudo Town, you mean?’

‘Yes.’ Yaido was quiet for a moment. ‘It was never really about wanting a husband, of course. When you’re surrounded by monsters and malice and _this_ —’ she slapped the pulsing blue surface beneath her, ‘— whatever it is, and no sign of things ever changing, a future where I could be happy seemed so laughable.’ She grimaced. ‘I could settle for a life that at least would be predictable. And it meant I'd be helping the Gerudo during this difficult time as well. Doesn’t that make it sound much more selfless? I believed it _was_ selfless for a while. My ancestors should scorn me for that too.’

Celessa knelt back down. ‘I would have understood. I _do_ understand.’

‘I know. But I liked being the person you thought I was. I guess I thought I could be, eventually. I wanted to try.’

A frown came over Celessa. ‘Why?’

Yaido blinked.

‘Can’t you see it? No one’s going to end up happy if you do that. Not your ancestors. Not the man you’re going to marry. Not me. Maybe Gerudo Town, although I’d hope not.’ She sighed. ‘And not you. Especially not you.’

Yaido shivered. She looked to the fire. Celessa, fearing she’d said too much, brought Yaido her share of roasted meat and left her to her thoughts.

The hour grew late. Longs sighs of wind tore over the mountain peak, the occasional burst of cold air slipping past the Goddess statue’s protective width and fluttering the fire. Exhausted but unwilling to sleep, Celessa wavered between daydreams of Wetland Stable and watching over the fire. When the flames started to burn low, Celessa felt a chill through her doublet. She quickly added some of Yaido’s wood to the flames and sat back down, hugging her knees for warmth. Yaido reached out her hand to Celessa. ‘Come here.’

Celessa blinked at her in surprise.

‘You look cold. Come be with me.’

Celessa let out a low exhale. She grabbed Yaido’s hand and joined her under the bundle of blankets, quickly finding herself held in the heat of Yaido’s arms. ‘Is that better?’ said Yaido.

Celessa nodded, hoping to save some dignity through silence.

‘How did you do that?’ said Yaido.

‘… Do what?’

‘Before, the way you were able to cut through things.’

Celessa thought for a moment. She started to laugh. ‘I think I picked it up from you. Whenever I’d convinced myself that something was inevitable, you helped me see things differently, even if I didn’t want to. And soon the truth seemed so obvious I’d have to wonder how I hadn’t seen it myself. Before, I don’t think I told you anything you didn’t already know yourself.’

‘That’s just it. I’ve been thinking about how I got to this point - how I managed to convince myself I wanted to go through with finding a husband, when I already knew I didn't.’

‘It’s alright. You said it yourself - you were scared, and fear makes us do strange things. No need to beat yourself up.’

‘I’m afraid there’s more to it than that.’

Celessa frowned, and then her eyes widened in understanding. ‘This is about what you said earlier, isn’t it? That you’d already stopped travelling for the Gerudo’s sake.’

Yaido sighed.

‘What happened?’

‘You’re not going to believe me when I tell you.’

‘Go on.’

Yaido steeled herself. ‘I never got lost on the way to Lover’s Pond. My directions were actually very simple. I knew that I’d come to an intersection and that when I did, I was to take the road leading south. From there I’d reach the Faron region, and from there … Lover’s Pond, if it really did exist. And the possibility that it did was all I could think about by the time I reached the intersection. I could either turn and bring myself to find out, or I could keep going the way I already was.’ She blushed. ‘I didn’t take long to decide.’

Celessa leaned her head into Yaido’s chest. ‘What happened after that?’

Yaido looked up at the ceiling of the cave, turning over the memories in her head. ‘It felt so freeing to begin with. And terrifying. Hyrule now seemed so impossibly huge that I didn’t know what to do with myself. Then I saw Hyrule Castle from the road and I remembered why my journey wasn’t just about me.’ She lowered her eyes to the fire. ‘Even then, I still couldn’t make myself go back. I kept travelling along the road and tried not to think about what I was doing. Only that second part didn’t last very long, not when everyone I spoke to - well, everyone but you - assumed I was looking for a husband anyway. I realised how easily I could go back to that and not feel scared anymore. Not _good_ , either, but not scared, at least.’ She shook her head. ‘I think up until tonight, I’d managed to convince myself I didn’t know what I wanted. It was easier that way. But I did know, deep down. I made my decision when I stayed on my road.’

Celessa turned inward to Yaido and hugged her. ‘For what it’s worth, I think your ancestors would be proud that you’re going to be true to yourself.’

A pained smile crossed Yaido’s face. She blinked back tears. ‘I think they would too.’

Celessa heard Yaido sniffle and held her closer. Yaido chuckled. ‘Remember when you said it seemed like any good you put into the world wouldn’t last? Well I think this will. Thank you. For everything.’

Celessa started to sniffle as well. ‘Don’t thank me yet. Not until you’re safely back in Hateno Village.’

Yaido was quiet for a moment. ‘Where will you go after this?’

Celessa froze.

‘I don’t want you to worry about me,’ Yaido added. ‘You’ve got a new purpose to follow now. I understand if that means we’ll have to say goodbye in Hateno Village after all.’ She tried to laugh. ‘We haven’t even known each other long. It’s just hard to imagine leaving Hateno Village without you. It’s hard to imagine life at all after this.’

Celessa looked Yaido in the eye. ‘What about a life where we both try to put good into the world, even if it doesn’t last?’

Yaido smiled a little painfully and looked away to the fire. She tried to pull herself together. ‘Yes. Of course. That sounds good.’

Realising she hadn’t made her point, Celessa leaned up and kissed the corner of Yaido’s mouth. Yaido’s eyes widened. ‘Wait,’ she spluttered. ‘You mean together? You and I will still be together?’

Celessa reached her hands to Yaido’s face and kissed her again, this time with an impatient fervour that suggested they had too much lost time to make up for to be talking. Yaido stopped asking questions.

 

* * *

 

Never in Yaido’s life had she expected to look upon a Sheikah shrine with fondness, but glancing over her shoulder to be sure that nothing was left behind in the cave, she took in the pulsing blue glow one last time and smiled.

Out under the dim brightness of the pre-dawn sky, Celessa clutched her torch close for warmth and waded reverently around the Goddess statue’s plinth. Yaido came splashing up behind her and they stepped out of the water onto the dais. They turned to face the Goddess statue. Likely, Celessa realised, for the very last time.

‘Ready to go?’ said Yaido.

‘Nearly. I’ll be with you in a moment.’

While Yaido drifted a respectful distance from the dais, Celessa crossed the stepping stones and stopped before the Goddess. She looked up at the Goddess’s eyes, anxious to remember every detail of the stone face. Then she bent her head and placed her hand on her chest.

 _Goddess Hylia, I don_ _’t think there’s any way to express how thankful I am._ _Yaido is safe, and I feel, too, that I have changed somehow for the better. I_ _’d come_ _so far to seek your guidance at this sacred place, only to wake this morning with the clearest sense that I want to keep going as I am. I hope this decision pleases you. In truth, I can_ _’t help wondering if you gifted me some wisdom after all._

‘Celessa!’

Celessa looked over her shoulder. A serpent-like shadow slid over the spring, but the sky above them was empty. Wind billowed forth out of nowhere along the spring. Celessa went to Yaido, but for all the strangeness of their surroundings, both of them felt an inexplicable sense of ease. The shadow fell over them and curved along a path beside the spring, which seemed to lead even higher to the very top of the mountain. Celessa and Yaido followed the tail of the shadow.

The path was punishingly steep, and Celessa and Yaido were forced to stop to catch their breath before they could go on to reach the top. Beside them on the outer edge of the path, a gap between the giant icicles showed a view of Hyrule stretching all the way from the Gerudo Highlands to Death Mountain and the Akkala region. Celessa and Yaido approached the edge and looked out across the sprawling green land.

Yaido took Celessa’s free hand. ‘I wish everyone could see Hyrule like this.’

Celessa nodded. ‘There’s something particularly beautiful about it from up here. Like I’m looking at it with new eyes.’ She squinted at a spot near Central Hyrule and grinned. ‘There’s Wetland Stable. I wonder how everyone’s doing.’ Her eyes moved up a large ruin beyond the stable. She frowned. ‘That - I don’t even know what that is.’

Yaido followed her gaze and shook her head. ‘I wouldn’t know. Although that spire is oddly familiar.’

Celessa frowned even harder. ‘Yes. It … no …’

‘What?’

‘It must be Hyrule Castle.’

They looked at each other and then back at the ruin. Yaido gasped and pointed to the sky. ‘The red lights - they’re gone!’

Celessa scanned the horizon again and gave a faint laugh of confoundment. ‘Does this mean it’s over? Calamity Ganon is … gone.’ She looked back at the bare castle ruins. Her breath nearly left her as the realisation hit her. ‘ _It_ _’s gone_. Yaido!’

Yaido pinched herself. They looked at each other again and all words left them. Celessa threw her arms around Yaido, nearly singeing her hair with her torch in her excitement. Yaido’s foot slipped and they fell backwards onto the snow. Caught between laughter and sobs, they reached for each other’s face with their cold mittened hands and simply looked at each other, basking in each other’s breathless happiness. Then they craned their necks to look back at Hyrule Castle. A wave of pure exhilaration surged through them and they shouted out cheers of sheer joy and disbelief.

Only when the cold began to sting and their unlit torches became apparent did they manage to collect themselves and begin the euphoric descent back down the mountain.


	7. Chapter 7

In the farm above Hateno Village, a woman dozed in the warm grass of the pasture while her flock of sheep quietly sunned themselves nearby. A restless cricket chirped in the woman’s ear. Then a dog whined some way off in the farm. The woman dragged herself up and saw the dog at the edge of the pasture, its tail wagging hesitantly as it looked towards the forest below Madorna Mountain. Celessa and Yaido emerged from the trees panting wildly, swamped in their hot clothing. They met the woman at the front of the farmhouse and all but collapsed at her feet. ‘The Calamity,’ Celessa gasped. ‘It’s over!’

The woman blinked and watched as Yaido tore the sweaty Hylian hood from her throat. ‘It's true,’ said Yaido. ‘We saw from Mount Lanayru - Hyrule Castle is free.’

‘Wait,’ said the woman, as Celessa and Yaido lumbered onward to the road. She staggered after them. ‘What do you mean? How?’

‘I’m afraid your guess is as good as ours,’ said Celessa.

An old man sitting under a tree by the road stood up at this. ‘What was that? The Calamity is gone?’

The woman stopped beside him. ‘They said they saw it from Mountain Lanayru.’ She watched Celessa and Yaido’s retreating backs as they headed down the road. ‘Hold on,’ she called after them. ‘Are you sure you don’t want to rest here a while? Your heads might be a little clearer after that.’

‘Thanks, but we can’t stop now,’ said Celessa. ‘We need to spread the word.’

The woman groaned under her breath. Then she saw the old man had left his seat and was making his way up the hill. ‘Hey Gramps,’ she said. ‘Where do you think you’re going?’

‘If anyone’s going to settle this, it’ll be those strange folk up there with the telescope.’

The woman considered this for a moment and then hurried after him.

Down from the farm, Celessa and Yaido came upon Ralera beneath her tree and told her the news. Ralera jumped to her feet. ‘I was wondering all morning why the light from that thing beyond Dueling Peaks had stopped.’ Celessa and Yaido followed her gaze to the distant figure of Vah Naboris perched amongst the Gerudo mesas. Ralera clutched at her chest. ‘The Calamity’s really gone?’

Celessa and Yaido looked to each other and nodded. ‘That’s what we saw,’ said Celessa.

Ralera threw her arms around Celessa and Yaido. They buckled, laughing, beneath her. Sobbing, Ralera promptly abandoned her watch over the windmills to accompany them down to the village. Once there, she sensed Celessa and Yaido’s exhaustion and took charge of spreading the news, allowing Celessa and Yaido to return to the inn.

By the time they’d bathed and eaten, Celessa and Yaido could barely walk a straight line to their beds. They sank down onto the two beds close together in the corner of the room and sprawled out over the soft blankets. ‘You could come over here if you wanted,’ said Celessa. ‘You know, in case you were wondering what it’s like to sleep next to me when I actually smell nice.’

Yaido laughed, and within moments they were both asleep.

They woke a few hours later to a buzz of voices outside. Downstairs, the inn was empty; even the woman at the counter had disappeared. Celessa and Yaido went outside to investigate the commotion and saw a crowd of villagers moving down into the village from the hill. Leading the crowd was a white-haired girl and man, who Celessa, much to her delight and confusion, recognised as belonging to the Sheikah. Behind the girl and man, a large telescope wobbled slightly from inside a cart pulled by men. Children flanked the cart, both in awe of the telescope and of the Sheikah pair walking ahead of them. What appeared to be the rest of the entire village followed in their wake, cheering on the cart-pullers and chattering excitedly amongst themselves. Celessa and Yaido joined as the crowd passed the inn and Ralera squeezed her way to their side. ‘I was just wondering if I should wake you,’ she said.

Celessa and Yaido looked about in wonder and then at the telescope. ‘Where are we going with that?’ said Yaido.

Ralera pointed to a mountain just beyond the Sheikah shrine sitting over the village. ‘The girl thinks we’ll be able to see the castle from up there.’ She flashed Yaido and Celessa a nervous smile. ‘I feel like someone should pinch me.’

It took all the restraint Yaido had not to hoist Ralera up and spin her around with joy.

Bolson watched on in astonishment from his campfire as the crowd crossed over the bridge. Yaido waved him over, and he scrambled to his feet to join them. ‘What’s happened?’ he said. ‘Are we evacuating? Why does everyone look so excited?’

A little girl bounced up and down beside him. ‘We’re going to see the castle!’

Bolson looked disbelievingly to Celessa and Yaido, and Celessa confirmed it with a nod. As Yaido began to explain, the villagers cheered at the sight of the mountain path coming into view from behind the unoccupied house. Bolson looked from the telescope to the mountain and a smile dawned on his face. He lifted the girl onto his shoulders and strode ahead through the crowd, the girl pointing wildly to the telescope in plain sight.

Celessa and Yaido shared a glance, but whatever apprehension they felt at climbing another mountain fell away as the excitement of the crowd swept them up the path. Despite their legs feeling as wobbly as chuchu jelly, Celessa and Yaido found themselves cheerfully walking arm in arm with villagers who wanted to hear more of what they saw on Mount Lanayru, while children hopped ahead of them and interjected with questions. Other villagers were already theorising how the Calamity could be gone, while from the rear of the crowd, elders reminisced with each other on their childhoods in the wake of the Calamity, and the stories from their elders of the time before that. No one walked without a grin, not even the sullen young man with pockets full of crickets.

The cart finally halted halfway up the mountain, and while the Sheikah girl and man began overseeing the telescope’s removal, the last of the young and old stragglers down the mountain were retrieved and brought up on piggyback. Soon the entire village waited with bated breath as the Sheikah pair directed the telescope’s repositioning at the rocky edges of the mountain path, children weaving their way around the difficult procedure like cats. When it became clear that no answer was soon to come, a murmur of excitement and laughter returned to the crowd.

Following the telescope’s view towards the Kakariko hills, Celessa took in the familiar sight and pulled away from the crowd to stand closer by the edge of the path. Below her lied the grassy tops of the Cliffs of Quince, and the valley with its ruins, and the waterfall and the copse of trees. She could even make out the hill she and Yaido and had sat upon. Above them all, the peak of Mount Lanayru looked a little smaller now. Celessa smiled.

Yaido joined her from the crowd, and Celessa pointed out where they’d left the road to climb up the slopes for the copse of trees. Yaido stared at the slopes in wonder and then stifled a laugh. ‘To think that little climb itself felt like an adventure.’

Celessa stifled a laugh as well. ‘There’s a lot more of Hyrule for you and I to see now.’

They looked towards the horizon. Goosebumps ran up Yaido’s arms. ‘I think a part of me still can’t believe it.’

‘I know.’

The villagers fell silent behind them. The Sheikah girl was peering into the eye of the telescope. Celessa and Yaido rejoined the crowd and watched on with bated breath again as the girl's hand adjusted the telescope’s focus. Then her hand froze. She gasped. The crowd gasped in response. ‘It’s gone,’ she squeaked. ‘Calamity Ganon is gone!’

A tremor ran through the crowd. There was a long moment of silence as this pronouncement sunk in, and then a cheer erupted so loud the ground shook beneath the villagers’ feet. Celessa and Yaido quickly found themselves engulfed by incoherent excitement. For all their tiredness, the glowing joy they’d felt at the peak of Mount Lanayru burned even brighter as they stumbled into teary hug after teary hug with the villagers.

A modicum of calm eventually returned to the crowd, enough for a line to begin forming at the telescope. Cheers renewed as the villagers took their turn looking through and confirmed, and reconfirmed, that the castle had indeed been freed. Celessa took Yaido’s hand and approached the Sheikah pair, who stood away from the telescope queue deep in hushed, awed conversation. ‘Excuse me,’ said Celessa. ‘I’m sorry to interrupt. But you seem like you understand what’s going on here. How could the castle be free? What does it mean?’

The girl peered up at Celessa and put her hand on her hip. ‘Well, to put it simply, the Champion Knight successfully freed the other Champions along with Princess Zelda, and together they were finally able to defeat Calamity Ganon and seal him away.’

Celessa’s mouth fell open. ‘Princess Zelda?’ She looked rapidly back and forth between Yaido and the girl. ‘Princess Zelda is - she’s free? _Princess Zelda is free_?’

The girl bounced with excitement. ‘That’s right!’ she said, and then fell into a sudden cloud of thought. ‘I wonder how the effects of magical stasis compare with our technology.’

Celessa squealed into her hands. Her knees started to buckle, and Yaido quickly hugged her to keep her steady. Before Celessa could find words to speak again, the girl was back in deep conversation with the Sheikah man muttering something about experiment notes. Celessa looked dreamily up at Yaido. Yaido grinned. ‘If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were more excited about this than all of Hyrule being saved.’

Celessa laughed and then fanned herself. ‘Oh my goodness. I feel like I could faint.’

Yaido felt a hand at her elbow. Ralera stood breathlessly beside her. ‘If you don’t already have plans - would you like to come with me to Lurelin Village? I want to bring them the news, and, well, I thought you might like to experience the ocean properly.’ Her eyes fell on Celessa and she looked back at Yaido with a pleased smile. ‘Both of you, of course.’

Celessa nodded so vigorously she nearly tipped over. Saving the planning for a quieter moment, Ralera squeezed Yaido's arm and Yaido led Celessa back down the mountain.

Bolson was back by his campfire under the tree, only now he stood over it, arms crossed in thought. He saw Yaido and Celessa approach arm in arm and smirked at Yaido. ‘Looks like I won't be keeping this spot warm for you after all.’

Yaido shrugged. ‘What can I say - Gerudo don’t like to settle.’

‘I’ve had a revelation of sorts myself,’ said Bolson. ‘Now isn’t the time to find a husband and settle down. Hyrule Castle needs me.’ He threw his hand towards the model homes. ‘It needs this. There’s too much work to be done to be thinking about myself.’

‘I’m sure you can have both,’ said Celessa. ‘Hyrule _needs_ both.’

Bolson smiled wistfully to himself. Yaido clapped his shoulder. ‘Time waits for no one, remember?’

Bolson’s smile broadened. ‘Indeed.’

There was much that Yaido wanted to say to Bolson, to at the very least thank him, but she sensed there'd be plenty of time for that later that evening.

Celessa and Yaido moved on past the bridge, and returning to the silent road, quickly realised they had the rest of the village to themselves. Before heading back to the inn however, Celessa led Yaido on a detour up to the mayor’s courtyard to see the village’s Goddess statue. Yaido settled beneath an apple tree close by while Celessa knelt at the statue and clasped her hands. Celessa blinked and tried to reign in her frenzied thoughts. No thank-you seemed big enough at that moment, but she did her best.

From where Yaido sat against the tree, she saw villagers trickling back down the mountainside. The older villagers still crowded around the telescope, each of them taking turns to look through at the castle again and again. Much further in the distance was the dark silhouette of Vah Naboris against a glowing sunset. No doubt it would be a long while before she got to return home, but the thought of seeing that silhouette on her travels and knowing the Gerudo lived in peace again made Yaido smile.

Celessa’s arms wound their way around Yaido’s neck as she sank onto Yaido’s lap. ‘I need to thank you, too,’ she said. She kissed Yaido's lips and Yaido flushed, even now despite the multitude of kisses between Mount Lanayru and back.

‘I still need to thank you as well, remember?’

They kissed again, longer this time, until the sound of running footsteps and joyous laughter broke them apart. Villagers raced along the road, up through the village and into houses and to the cooking station in preparation for the celebration ahead. Celessa grinned. ‘This is going to be quite the party.’

‘We’d better enjoy all of this while it lasts,’ said Yaido. ‘Here, Lurelin Village; soon everyone will be busy trying to put things back together.’

‘Think of all the help they’ll need at the castle. Did you know there was once a town there, too? Bolson’s right - it’ll all need to be rebuilt.’

‘And after some rupees have exchanged hands I’m sure you’ll be living below Princess Zelda’s window.’

Celessa elbowed Yaido and fought back a giggle. ‘Don’t tempt me. Not unless you want to be living under her window too.’

Yaido flushed again and they both collapsed into giggles. More villagers rushed along the road carrying tables between them and chairs, but Yaido, thinking now of the journey ahead of her and Celessa, was too enraptured to notice. She pressed her chin against Celessa’s head. ‘How far to Hyrule Castle from here?’

‘Oh - quite far. More than the journey to Hateno Village and Mount Lanayru combined. Longer still if we’re coming from the Faron region.’

Yaido beamed, giddy like a child. ‘Good.’

Celessa nodded in agreement, and laughed. ‘It sounds good now, but I have a feeling we should find ourselves some horses along the way.’

‘Maybe,’ agreed Yaido. ‘But think of all the adventures we’d miss out on.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for following this little story about two scared, lonely lesbians uplifting each other!  
> I was going to include a big long explanation for how/why I wrote about two NPCs a lot of players won’t remember or never even encountered, and then I realised it basically boiled down to ‘Celessa neat. Gerudo also neat. Let’s look at Gerudo names so I can make one up for this OC I guess I’ll have to come up with— oh wait, who is this "Yaido" I don’t even remember? She wistfully talks about her friend and going to Lover’s Pond? OC who?’. Also, discovering there was a tiny but existing Celessa fandom out there was very encouraging too haha. There are dozens of us!  
> I’m sad this is over tbh, and not just because I've come to love these two characters a whole lot. Months ago when I was searching for fanfic about Celessa making her pilgrimage (because in my mind the world of fanfic was a magical place where you could presumably find any kind of fic you wanted, lmao), I was gutted to find exactly zero fics about it. But it turned out that needing to be the change I wanted to see in the world was the most fun I’ve had with a writing project, like, ever. I don't want it to end!  
> Given all that fun though, I'm sure I'll be back eventually. No idea with what, but no doubt it'll be very gay <3  
> 


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